TAPIT North America’s Leading Sire By: Delaney Witbrod Top 3 Earners of 2016
Frosted
H
e was foaled February 27th, 2001, and stands 16 hands tall with a wellbalanced physique and striking white coat. Tapit’s career on the track was short and modest with just six starts–three of which he won, including the 2003 Laurel Futurity and the 2004 Wood Memorial–and career earnings totaling $557,300. He retired in 2005 to Gainesway Farm after an up and down three-yearold campaign. His stud fee set at a rock bottom $15,000. No one knew it then, but Tapit would soon grow to become one of the biggest influencers in the sport.
$1,910,000
Creator
$1,582,000
Lani
$1,464,421 Photos (above): Eric Kalet
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Thoroughbred Today
Tapit’s first crop hit the track in 2008 and it became clear, shortly after, that his true calling was in the breeding shed. He was named leading sire in 2008, ranked third on the general sire list in 2011 and finished fourth and seventh in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Then, in 2014, Tapit struck gold. His once modest $15,000 stud fee shot to $150,000 and his stud book filled with quality mares. 292 of his offspring hit the track that year, yielding 140 winners and 15 stakes winners. He took over the top spot on the North American Leading Sire standings with $16,482,151 in earnings and has dominated ever since. The conspicuous grey returned in 2015, doubling his stud fee to a jaw-dropping $300,000. He broke his earnings record by nearly $1 million, led North America with 174 winners and was the leading sire for every “Black-Type” category. Fast forward to present day and Tapit has sired 175 black-type horses, 85 stakes winners, 53 graded stakes winners, 21 Grade 1 winners and five Breeders’ Cup winners. On June 16, 2016, he cleared the $100 million mark in progeny earnings when son Cupid won the $500,000 Indiana Derby
and now totals upward of $104 million. This momentous milestone was achieved with nine crops of racing age that include notable winners such as Testa Matta, Frosted, Untapable, Tonalist, Stardom Bound, Hansen, Lani, Creator–stop to breathe for a second because there’s more–Tapiture, Cupid, Time and Motion, Mohaymen, Anchor Down, Ring Weekend, Scuba and Tahltan. It’s tough being Tapit these days, living the life at Gainesway Farm, where some of the most prominent fillies in the sport line up just to get a few minutes of his time. As most of the stallions do at Gainesway, Tapit sticks to a daily routine: “[Assuming good weather], all of our stallions spend the mornings outside. It gives them a chance to stretch their legs, graze, roll, and just be a horse,” says Ian Tapp, who handles the sales and bloodstock development at the farm. Shortly before noon, the son of Pulpit and Tap Your Heels (by Unbridled) goes back inside, where he will either be bathed or vacuumed depending on the weather and how dirty he is. During the breeding season, which runs from February to June, Tapit will cover no more than three mares per day, with scheduled coverings at 9:00AM, 2:00PM, and 6:00PM in the breeding shed. His book is limited to 125 mares, as it has been for the last few seasons. “We do this to limit Tapit’s workload so that he’s happy and healthy, and also to limit the supply of his progeny in the marketplace. The reduced number helps ensure demand for his yearlings and keeps the average sale price high to benefit owners who send mares to him,” says Tapp. After the day is done, Tapit spends the night in his stall and will start the routine over