Pulpit’s Tapit has the stats

By Elaine Belval

Trappe Shot won the Long Branch Stakes for owner Mill House and trainer Kiaran McLaughlin very easily on Saturday. Ridden by jockey Alan Garcia, this colt won by two lengths and is one target for the G1 Haskell Invitational S. Trappe Shot made a lot of noise after an impressive allowance victory on the Belmont Stakes undercard. The Long Branch was Trappe Shot’s first stakes start and he stepped up very nicely. Trappe Shot is by Tapit out of the mare Shopping by Private Account, making him a half to three SWs including G1 winner Miss Shop. He has bred by Mill House and sold for $850,000 at Fasig-Tipton Midatlantic 2-year-old in training sale (he was the top selling Tapit 2YO in 2009).

Tapit won the G3 Laurel Futurity at 2 and the G1 Wood Memorial at 3. He retired as one of the first sons of Pulpit (along with Sky Mesa and Stroll) at stud. With champion Stardom Bound in his first crop, Tapit has quickly established Pulpit’s reputation as a burgeoning “sire of sires.” Tapit had a healthy 94 foals in his first crop, but what is remarkable in that is 12 of those 94 foals won black type events (an excellent 13% SWs to foals). Along with champion Stardom Bound, Tapit sired champion As de Trebol (Spain), and G1 winners Careless Jewel (Alabama S.) and Laragh (Hollywood Starlet). From his second crop (3-year-olds of 2010), Tapit has already sired Breeders’ Cup winner Tapitsfly and GSWs Concord Point and Touching Beauty. Tapit has four SWs in 2010, and all are new SWs from his crop of 2007. In fact, with 136 foals in his first two crops, Tapit has sired 79% starters, 60% winners and 10% SWs. Few stallions can match those lifetime statistics, and Tapit has done it with two crops of racing age! Add to this, an Average Earnings Index of 2.67 and a Comparable Index of a modest 1.53, indicating he is improving his mares by over 50%.

And early indicators are Tapit is capable of siring all sorts of runners. From his 17 SWs, he has four 2-year-old SWs including two champions and two Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winners. Three of 17 SWs won on turf and three of his SWs won on artificial surfaces. And, to top it off, his progeny have won stakes from five to 10 furlongs. Tapit is quickly becoming one of the most successful and versatile stallions in the US. He stands at Gainesway Farm in Kentucky and stood for $50,000 in 2010.

As a final note, another son of Pulpit is off to a promising start. Lucky Pulpit sired the SW Luckarack, winner of the Alameda County S. for 2-year-olds. Owned and bred by Mr. and Mrs. Larry Williams and trained by Steven Specht, this colt is undefeated in two starts. Lucky Pulpit has his first crop racing in 2010. A SW from the family of Seattle Song, Lucky Pulpit stands at Harris Farms in California and stood for $2,500 in 2010.

(Elaine Belval is senior pedigree analyst at WTC.)

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Speightstown on verge of breakout!

By Elaine Belval

Haynesfield easily won the G2 Suburban H. last weekend, spoiling the return of 2009 G1 winner I Want Revenge. Haynesfield is the ninth individual unrestricted SW for Champion Speightstown in 2010. Also winning over the long holiday weekend was the Speightstown colt Essence Hit Man, winner of a second Woodbine stakes.

This could easily be a breakout year for this third-crop sire. Speightstown is the second-leading third crop sire of 2010 (behind Medaglia d’Oro) and is among the top 15 sires on the General Sire List. Of his nine 2010 SWs, six are new SWs in 2010 (second only to the same farm’s Distorted Humor with 10). And, so far in 2010, his leading earner has less than 10% of his total earnings, indicating he is siring a wide range of high-quality horses.

Speightstown is a rare, and lucky, individual. His owner, Eugene Melnyk, never gave up on him. As an attractive individual by leading sire Gone West out of the Champion Silken Cat, by Storm Cat, he sold for $2 million at the 1999 Keeneland July Sale. He made one start at 2 and showed some promise at 3, winning at maiden at Gulfstream Park early in the year and finishing second in the G2 Amsterdam S. to City Zip. However, minor ailments kept him off the track his entire 4-year-old season and into much of his 5-year-old year. With his pedigree, Speightstown could have been sold as a minor stallion prospect. But, Melnyk allowed the horse time, and was rewarded by a 6-year-old campaign that included five victories in six starts, including the G1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint and a track-record-equaling performance in the G2 Alfred Vanderbilt H. at Saratoga.

Speightstown retired to WinStar Farm in 2005 for a solid fee of $40,000 considering his race record and pedigree. His first crop had 21 individual winners, including two SWs. One of the more surprising aspects (at least to this analyst) is Speightstown’s success in Europe. One of his two SWs in 2008 was G2 Mill Reef S. winner Lord Shanakill (he would add the prestigious G1 Prix Jean Prat at age 3). And despite Speightstown’s never racing on turf, four of his SWs have won on the surface (including Bridgetown – second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf). Another four SWs have won on artificial surfaces.

From 195 foals of racing age (not including 2010 2YOs), Speightstown has more than 80% starters and more than 50% winners (which is remarkable considering his oldest progeny are only four!). He has 16 unrestricted SWs (an excellent 8% SWs to foals). However, it should be noted, from his 100 2YOs of 2010, he already has 15 starters and four individual winners.

It speaks to both careful management and excellent stud fee evaluation that despite the overall drop in stud fees over the last few years, Speightstown stood for $35,000 in 2010. Click here for his sire stat page, courtesy Thoroughbred Times.

(Elaine Belval is senior pedigree analyst at WTC.)

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