Owner/breeder Ron Winchell will be well-represented by a pair of 3-year-old homebreds by Tapit in Saturday's GI Cotillion S. and GII Pennsylvania Derby at Parx. The red-hot Gainesway stallion, of course, was campaigned by the Winchell family, which retained a 50-percent stake in the nation's leading stallion. Tapit has continued to flex his muscle in the sales ring as well, led by the current co-topping $2.2-million colt at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
“It's like catching lightning in a bottle,” Winchell said of the 2004 GI Wood Memorial hero's success at stud.
Untapable, a runaway heroine of this term's GI Kentucky Oaks and GI Mother Goose S., looks to get back on track in the Cotillion after a disappointing off-the-board finish as the 7-5 chalk against the boys in the GI William Hill Haskell Invitational S. July 27. She is the 7-5 morning-line favorite in the Cotillion.
“She's done phenomenal since [finishing fifth, beaten nine lengths in the Haskell],” Winchell commented on Tuesday's NTRA National Media Teleconference.
“That race turned out to be a little tough–she got away from the gate a little slow, had to go wide, and there was a speed bias of some sort as well. We've given her some time and she's done fantastic.”
Winchell continued, “Obviously hindsight is 20/20. If we could go back in time we'd probably take a different route just because of how it turned out. At the time, it seemed to be the right decision to step her up against boys. She was defeating the fillies so easily, and she seemed to be in a prime position coming off her win at Belmont [in the Mother Goose].”
Winchell concluded, “But we can't go back in time.”
The streaking Tapiture, meanwhile, will meet dual Classic winner California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) in the Pennsylvania Derby. A well-beaten 15th after tossing a shoe on the first turn in the GI Kentucky Derby, Tapiture has really started to come into his own since. Freshened following a decisive win in the GIII Matt Winn S. at Churchill Downs June 14, the chestnut overcame a world of trouble before getting up for a dramatic nose victory in the GII West Virginia Derby last time Aug. 2.
“Obviously that stretch run was eye-popping,” Winchell said of the West Virginia Derby. “I didn't think he was going to get there and somehow he did and pulled off the victory.”
Is Winchell looking forward to a rematch with the comebacking California Chrome?
“I don't know if I'm looking forward to a rematch–obviously California Chrome is an exceptional horse,” Winchell replied. “One thing that we have discovered with Tapiture is that time between his races seems to be the key. I think he's sitting on a really big effort, so I'm pretty excited to see what happens Saturday.”
Winchell continued, “We're sitting in a prime position now, making our third start since the Derby. California Chrome coming back [off a layoff] has to go 1 1/8 miles against horses in top form and that does leave him a little vulnerable in my book. That probably wouldn't have been my choice if I was his owner. It's definitely a good time to face him.”
Clearly locked and loaded for the big races on the horizon this fall, Winchell is also looking ahead to the future for his operation.
“The problem we're having right now is the popularity of Tapit,” Winchell explained. “It used to be that we bred most of [our 25] mares to him. Now, he's such a fantastic sire, that he's outclassing some of them. You need to have a top-quality mare and there are only so many that we have. We're probably going to look for a few more mares to purchase and breed to him. Hopefully, Tapit has many more years to come.”
Sounds like a pretty good problem to have.
For more on Winchell, click here for a profile piece from the June 28 edition.
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