Winchell Tapit Duo on the Ground in NOLA

Winchell Thoroughbreds’ likely 3-year-filly champion Untapable (Tapit) and three-time graded-stakes winning sophomore Tapiture (Tapiture) have arrived to the barn of Steve Asmussen at the Fair Grounds to prepare for their respective 2015 campaigns, and have settled in well, according to Racing Manager David Fiske. 

“They wintered great,” said Fiske. “They both got to the farm after the Breeders’ Cup and took about 30 days off. Neither [was] a problem and they looked like they were happy to be doing something different. Everyone at the farm really enjoyed having them, too; they’re both characters. I don’t think they really lost all that much weight, either. Tapiture probably came in at about 1,200 pounds and Untapable about 1,150.” 

Untapable should be the unanimous selection for her Eclipse off a season which included victories in the GI Kentucky Oaks, GI Mother Goose S., GI Cotillion S. and a defeat of her elders in the GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff. In all, Untapable won six of her seven starts in 2014 with earnings of $2,808,600. 

Taptiture bankrolled $1.2 million in 2014, with scores in the GIII Southwest S., GIII Matt Winn S. and the GII West Virginia Derby, overcoming a world of trouble in the stretch to do so. Runner-up to subsequent GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Bayern (Offlee Wild) in the GII Pennsylvania Derby Sept. 20, the homebred was last seen rallying into second behind Goldencents (Into Mischief) in the GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile Oct. 31. Fiske anticipates a return to the races in early spring. 

“We’ll see how quickly they get ready,” Fiske continued. “We’ll let them tell us, obviously, but it’s really not hard for either one to get fit. We’ll start at the Breeders’ Cup and work backwards in five-week intervals and hopefully have them ready to go at the end of March or beginning of April. I could envision [Untapable] doing the same sort of campaign. She does better when you space her races out and will probably run no more than seven times. It would be nice to run her at Saratoga. She was supposed to run in the [GII] Adirondack as a 2-year-old there, but colicked the day before. We’ll focus on Grade Is with her.” 

As for Tapiture, Fiske believes longer races could be in his future. 

“His year-end goal depends on how he runs throughout the year,” Fiske said. “The Dirt Mile this year was around two turns [at Santa Anita] and that’s preferable for him, as opposed to one turn. In 2015, if he shows that he’s adept at mile and a eighth to a mile and a quarter, we’ll stretch him out somewhere to see if the Classic is an option. The [GII $400,000] New Orleans H. is possible, but we’ll really have to see how he’s coming along at that point.”