Tapit Trice

In a horse otherwise so well equipped for the Triple Crown trail, it's a major concern still to be quoting Milton every time the gates open: "They also serve who only stand and wait." As such, Tapit Trice (Tapit) looks like proving quite a test of the GI Kentucky Derby preparation favored by modern trainers. For all the thrilling power and fluency of his action, he's still all thumbs in terms of his professionalism. The way he got himself out of trouble in the GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby...

Eclipse Award winner Forte (Violence), impressive 4 1/2-length winner of the GII Fountain of Youth S. in his 3-year-old debut Mar. 4, closed as the 3-1 favorite ($8.76 will pay) in the fifth pool of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, with Saturday's GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby hero and 'TDN Rising Star' Tapit Trice (Tapit) the distance second choice at 8-1 ($18.32). The 'All Other 3-Year-Olds', encompassing any horse not listed among the individual betting interests, closed as the 10-1 ($22.08) third pick, while others to close at 30-1...

Figures released last week by Equibase showed that U.S. handle declined by 5.21% in February. This comes after handle declined by 7.19% in January. For the year, that's a drop off of 6.22% and, if those numbers hold up throughout the year, total handle will be off by $750 million and the year-over-year percentage decline will be the worst the sport has suffered since 2010. And it's not just that racing has gotten off to a slow, reversible start this year when it comes to wagering. Whatever is going on,...

At almost no point during the opening 6 1/2 furlongs of Saturday's GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby did things look particularly promising for Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable's heavily favored Tapit Trice (Tapit). But in a stretch rally befitting his status as a 'TDN Rising Star', the $1.3-million Keeneland September graduate went through his gears and whistled home to--somewhat unbelievably--post an open-lengths victory over Classic Car Wash (Noble Bird) and Classic Legacy (Into Mischief), the third- and fourth-place finishers, respectively, in the GIII Sam F. Davis S. four...

Trainer Todd Pletcher has unsaddled the winner of the GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby a record five times--no one else has more than two to their credit--and he stands a fair chance to make it a half-dozen Saturday afternoon when he sends out the two favorites on the morning line. Pegged at odds of 8-5 is Whisper Hill Farm's 'TDN Rising Star' Tapit Trice (Tapit), who will attempt to provide his sire with a fourth winner of the race since in its last 10 runnings (Ring Weekend, 2014; the...

We had the Forte (Violence) bit last week. Now for the piano. The champion juvenile resumed his sonata in virtuoso fashion, reprising themes established in its first movement with familiar verve.

We had the Forte (Violence) bit last week. Now for the piano. The champion juvenile resumed his sonata in virtuoso fashion, reprising themes established in its first movement with familiar verve. From his barnmate Tapit Trice, in contrast, we have so far only had a couple of experimental arpeggios--but even those have sufficed for their trainer to remove the local trial winner from his path in the GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on Saturday. Now there are perfectly coherent grounds within his own game plan for evicting Litigate (Blame)...

A trio of graded stakes preps in Florida, California and New York yielded a reshuffled deck this past weekend as we edge within the two-month mark for the May 6 GI Kentucky Derby. 1) FORTE (c, Violence--Queen Caroline, by Blame) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Repole Stable & St. Elias Stable; B-South Gate Farm (KY); T-Todd Pletcher. Sales history: $80,000 Wlg '20 KEENOV; $110,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo Colt, MGISW, 6-5-0-0, $1,833,230. Last start: Won GII Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park Mar. 4. KY Derby Points: 90....

The pari-mutuel field of "All Other 3-Year-olds" closed as the 2-1 favorite in Pool 4 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager while champion 2-year-old Forte (Violence) was the 8-1 second choice. Hoosier Philly (Into Mischief), the lone filly in the individual betting interests, closed as the 11-1 third choice. Other horses who attracted interest from the bettors were: Tapit Trice (Tapit) (15-1); GII Kentucky Jockey Club and GIII Lecomte winner Instant Coffee (Bolt d'Oro) (22-1); Smarty Jones winner Victory Formation (Tapwrit) (23-1); and Geaux Rocket Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}) (25-1)....

How apt that one of Burt Bacharach's very first hits was The Story Of My Life. Because reading the tributes prompted by his loss a couple of days ago, it turns out that his music was pretty well a soundtrack to the lives of millions who--especially in the Sixties, an era of profound societal tension between materialism and idealism--wanted assurance that the essential bonds of humanity still united them all. He transcended those divisions much as he did musical genres, knowing that the middle-aged hosts of suburban cocktail parties and...

Several contenders at the top of this week's rankings solidified their status, but one new shooter debuted at No. 4 to add some intrigue as we edge past the 90-day mark to the GI Kentucky Derby. 1) ARABIAN KNIGHT (c, Uncle Mo--Borealis Night, by Astrology) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Corser Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $250,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $2,300,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $544.275 Last start: 1st GIII Southwest S. at Oaklawn Park, Jan. 28. KY Derby Points: 0. Arabian Knight's thorough...

On a Saturday that included bi-coastal graded stakes for sophomores, the most emphatic performance on the GI Kentucky Derby trail was orchestrated in a first-level allowance race at Gulfstream Park by Tapit Trice (Tapit). It wasn't just the eight-length blowout margin of victory or the 92 Beyer Speed Figure that made the athletic gray's effort stand out. It's the fluid, three-race progression and unruffled demeanor that suggests Tapit Trice is ascending his developmental arc while honing an air of confident capability. A $1.3 million KEESEP yearling owned in partnership by...