It’s set to be another good Belmont Stakes (G1) for TAPIT on Saturday when his Champion 2-Year-Old son Essential Quality looks to become his sire’s fourth Belmont winner in eight years.
Just one Belmont Stakes win behind the race’s all-time leading sire Lexington, TAPIT’s influence has been felt far and wide when it comes to the final jewel of the Triple Crown. In addition to siring three Belmont Stakes winners, the stallion saw son Frosted finish second in the 2015 edition, Tacitus finish second in the 2019 edition, and Hofburg finish third in the 2018 edition.
Proving to be a sire-of-sires, TAPIT also had a hand in the shortened 2020 Belmont Stakes when grandson Tiz The Law won by 3 ¾ lengths.
TAPIT’s first two Belmont Stakes winners are represented by their own foals on the track with Tonalist taking the lead. The sire of 12 percent stakes horses from his first two crops, that son saw a major update on Monday when his son Country Grammer won the Hollywood Gold Cup (G1).
TAPIT is represented in Japan by 2016 Belmont Stakes winner and second-crop sire Creator, who has seen 12 winners from his first crop and one from his second crop – his only runner from that crop so far.
The best is yet to come however for TAPIT’s Belmont winners with his studmate and son TAPWRIT’s first runners hitting the track next year.
Running a 103 Beyer Speed Figure in his Belmont win – second only to American Pharoah in the past 13 years and sixth highest this century – TAPWRIT is one of only three traditional-distance Belmont Stakes winners in the past 15 years to win a stakes race on the dirt at two and the only of TAPIT’s five Belmont S. top three finishers to accomplish the feat.
Juvenile stakes winners turned Belmont Stakes heroes has boded well in the breeding shed — rising sire stars American Pharoah and Union Rags are the two TAPWRIT has joined on that list.
If TAPIT’s ability to sire top notch 2-year-olds and TAPWRIT’s own juvenile wins aren’t enough to show he has the ability to sire successful juveniles, one only has to look at his female family to see yet another reason.
TAPWRIT is out of the Grade 1 winning juvenile Appealing Zophie, who saw all but one of her winners to run at two win that season. Proving that her precocity is being passed down through the generations, two of Appealing Zophie’s daughters are the dams of stakes-placed 2-year-olds.
TAPWRIT proved that his precocity didn’t take away his ability to train on, as his win in the Belmont over 1 ½ miles shows. It’s clear this is also something that runs in the family with his half-brother Ride a Comet winning graded stakes at both five and six – including this year’s Tropical Turf Stakes (G3).
In addition, one of those juvenile stakes-placed runners out of TAPWRIT’s half-sister also trained on as well, winning a stakes race at four years old last year and placed in both his stakes attempts this year.
Standing for $10,000 in 2021, TAPWRIT’s first yearlings go through the ring this summer.