Tapit Trice, who appeared to struggle over the soupy track early, leveled off beautifully late to nail Skippylongstocking at the wire of the $400,000 Woodward Stakes (G2) Sept. 28 during the Belmont at the Big A meet at Aqueduct Racetrack.
The Woodward win, his fourth in graded stakes company for trainer Todd Pletcher, has propelled Tapit Trice into Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) contention. On the same card, Chilean-bred Mufasa earned a spot in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) after taking the Vosburgh Stakes (G3).
"We've always felt he was a Classic-type horse, so I'll talk to the Whisper Hill team about it," Pletcher said about Tapit Trice. "We were certainly going into this hoping to run a race that would earn his way in. It certainly looked like he did that today."
Ridden by Dylan Davis, the son of Tapit broke awkwardly and started climbing over the slop as the field headed down the backstretch. Even-money race favorite Skippylongstocking, the projected pacesetter, opted to lay off longshot Masqueparade through early fractions of :23.36 and :47.05.
Davis had Tapit Trice rolling into the far turn but the colt was yet to make much headway on Skippylongstocking, who took command as the field wheeled into the stretch. Switching his mount to an outside path, Tapit Trice reeled in Skippylongstocking for a three-quarters of a length victory in a final time of 1:50.09 for 1 1/8 miles over a muddy (sealed) track.
"Once he was able to get through and I switched him to the outside, he really started thriving," Davis said. "The distance did not affect him at all. He is a nice-moving horse so hopefully I can continue with him, but I'm very happy with this performance today."
Skippylongstocking was 13 1/4 lengths ahead of distant third-place finisher Crupi.
Tapit Trice ($6.80) is co-owned by Gainesway, which bred him, and Whisper Hill Farm and is out of the stakes-winning Dunkirk mare Danzatrice. Mandy Pope of Whisper Hill went to $1.3 million to acquire the colt at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Gainesway partnered up with Pope for Tapit Trice's racing career.
A winner of the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) as a 3-year-old, the Woodward takes Tapit Trice's earnings to $1,733,650. He captured the Monmouth Cup Stakes (G3) in July in his 4-year-old debut before finishing fourth in the Sept. 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1).
Video: Woodward S. (G2)
Mufasa Roars to Vosburgh Victory
Mufasa parlayed a track record-setting win at Colonial Downs into his first stateside graded stakes victory in the Vosburgh Stakes.
The 5-year-old son of Practical Joke , bet down as the 8-5 favorite, made short work of his Vosburgh rivals, powering clear at the top of the lane and roaring home a dominating 4 1/4-length winner.
Trained by Ignacio Correas IV for Carlos Saavedra and Stud Vendaval, the Vosburgh was the third U.S. start for Mufasa. Sixth in his Churchill Downs North American debut in June, he scorched seven furlongs in 1:19.86 at Colonial when convincingly defeating allowance company and setting a track record.
Flanking pacesetting Dean Delivers through splits of :23.13 and :46.47 under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., Mufasa took control at the quarter pole and poured it on to the wire. Mufasa ($5.20) clocked the seven furlongs in 1:22.51 over a muddy (sealed track).
"We were expecting something big from him," Correas said. "I'm not sure if that is big, the only question was the surface. He'd never run on the slop. He did everything good, like usual, like good horses do. He's a good horse, probably when he ran at Churchill, it was a little short, but he showed he could run, he made a big move that day. Then, at Colonial, he beat a very good horse. Then today he was impressive again. I mean, no words can describe his performance."
Scotland closed willingly for second while Dean Delivers held on for third to complete the trifecta.
With his Vosburgh win, a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series event, Mufasa was awarded an all-fees paid berth to the Nov. 2 $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint at Del Mar.
