Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
TAMPA BAY Another Derby prep likely for Tapwrit
OLDSMAR, Fla. – Tapwrit emerged from his 4 1/2-length win in the Grade 2, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby in good order and was “bright and alert, happy and sound” in his stall at Palm Beach Downs on Sunday, according to trainer Todd Pletcher, who won the biggest race of the Tampa Bay Downs meet for a record fifth time Saturday and the fourth time in the past five years.
Pletcher said Tapwrit is likely to make one more start ahead of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 6, but no decisions have been made. Tapwrit ($4.20), ridden by Jose Ortiz, knifed through rivals on the far turn of the Tampa Bay Derby to take command at the top of the stretch and wasn’t seriously challenged thereafter. His time of 1:42.36 for 1 1/16 miles was a stakes record, bettering the mark of 1:42.82 set last year by Destin, another runner from the Pletcher barn.
Tapwrit earned 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points in the Tampa Bay Derby, essentially guaranteeing him a spot in the starting gate, and now has 54 overall. Runner-up State of Honor earned 20 and now has 22, third-place Wild Shot earned 10 to boost his total to 17, and fourth-place No Dozing earned five and now has 10.
Tapwrit’s time also was faster than McCraken’s mark of 1:42.45 set in winning the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes here Feb. 11. Tapwrit earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure Saturday; McCraken was given a 95 for the Davis. Tapwrit finished second in that race, 1 1/2 lengths behind McCraken, a leading Kentucky Derby contender who missed the Tampa Bay Derby due to puffiness in an ankle. McCraken breezed half a mile in 50.20 seconds at Palm Meadows on Saturday, and the undefeated colt remains on track for the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 8, trainer Ian Wilkes said.
Tapwrit, a $1.2 million yearling purchase, has three wins and a second-place finish in five career starts and has earned $313,902 for owners Bridlewood Farm, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, and Bob LaPenta. The Tapit colt has won two stakes, including the $75,000 Pulpit in the slop at Gulfstream Park in December. He joined Destin, Carpe Diem (2015), Verrazano (2013), and Limehouse (2004) as Tampa Bay Derby winners for Pletcher.
“I was very pleased with his effort,” Pletcher said. “He kind of had a stumble at the start and a little bit of traffic in the first turn and handled all of that very professionally. I thought it was an impressive performance.”
State of Honor, with Julien Leparoux aboard, set the pace in the Tampa Bay Derby and fought hard to the end, just as he had when third in the Sam F. Davis Stakes. Casse said the colt likely will be given another chance on the Triple Crown trail in a race to be determined. State of Honor has made four consecutive starts in stakes and has placed in all of them.
“We wanted to rate him yesterday, but he broke running and kind of went to idling on the lead, and Julien said when the winner ran by him, he took off again,” Casse said. “I was proud of him. He never gave up.”
Wild Shot, who has placed in three graded stakes, is targeting the Blue Grass Stakes, trainer Rusty Arnold said. He was beaten for second by 1 1/2 lengths Saturday after finishing fourth in the Sam F. Davis.
“We thought he ran well,” Arnold said. “He settled in nicely, made a run. I thought it was a step forward, and we’re going to take one more step forward.”
No Dozing, the runner-up in the Grade 2 Remsen last fall, was beaten half a length for third Saturday, an improved effort over his sixth-place finish in the Sam F. Davis. Trainer Arnaud Delacour said he likely will point the colt to the $125,000 Federico Tesio Stakes, a key prep for the Preakness Stakes, at Laurel Park on April 13.
“I’m very pleased with the horse,” Delacour said. “I thought it was a move forward, but not enough of a move forward to consider running in the Derby.”
Pletcher said Sonic Mule, a stakes winner who finished eighth in the Tampa Bay Derby, likely will get a freshening and be pointed to one-turn races. Pletcher also scored a first-level allowance win with Egyptian Hero on Saturday and said that horse likely will start in the Grade 3 Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on April 15.
The Tampa Bay Derby was the highlight of Festival Day, the best card of the Tampa Bay Downs season, featuring five stakes, three of them graded. The card drew 10,079 racing fans and generated more than $12.1 million in handle, the second-largest handle figure in track history, behind only last year’s Festival Day.