WinStar TDN Derby Top 20
Mar. 14 TDN Top 12 Rank: 2
- Last Start: 1st, GII Tampa Bay Derby, TAM, Mar. 11
- Accomplishments Include: 1st, Pulpit S., GP, Dec. 10
- Next Start: Possible for GII Blue Grass S., KEE, Apr. 8
- Thoro-Graph sheet, Equineline PPs
- KY Derby Points: 54
Tampa Bay Derby victor Tapwrit is riding an upward arc right now, building off three wins in his last four starts, with his only loss since November a trip-troubled second behind McCraken in the Davis S. He’s a high-spirited, energetic gray who’s built up a decent foundation of races, and trainer Pletcher has indicated that this $1.2 million colt has been accelerating quickly on the learning curve during training over the past six weeks with plenty of potential for further improvement. A possible rematch with McCraken in the Blue Grass S. might not turn out to be the clash-of-titans throwdown that it could be considering both camps want to move forward with horses that are fresh enough to peak four weeks later at Churchill Downs. But the head-to-head implications are still intriguing from the standpoint of which colt might emerge as the more dominant divisional foe (and likely Derby favorite) crossing the nine-furlong bridge en route to 1 ¼ miles on the first Saturday in May.