Antony Beck's Gainesway and Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm have acquired interests in Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) winner Tapwrit, it was announced Aug. 7.
Gainesway and Whisper Hill will join Bridlewood Farm, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, and Robert LaPenta in racing the son of Gainesway's three-time champion sire Tapit , and will retain interests in his future breeding career. Tapwrit remains on target for a start in the Aug. 26 Travers Stakes (G1), and plans call for the colt to race in 2018 as a 4-year-old before eventually entering stud at Gainesway.
"Mr. and Mrs. Malone of Bridlewood Farm, Mr. LaPenta, and Eclipse are thrilled to welcome Gainesway and Whisper Hill into the Tapwrit partnership," Eclipse president Aron Wellman said. "It is wonderful for them to participate in Tapwrit's racing career, and we are honored to know that Tapwrit will ultimately be standing alongside his legendary sire at Gainesway when the time comes for him to go to stud."
Bred in Kentucky by My Meadowview, Tapwrit is out of Spinaway Stakes (G1) winner Appealing Zophie and was a $1.2 million purchase at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling sale. In addition to his Belmont Stakes score that earned a 103 Beyer Speed Figure, Tapwrit's stakes wins include the 2016 Pulpit Stakes and 2017 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2), in which he set a stakes record going 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.36.
"Mr. Beck and Ms. Pope have expressed incredible faith in Tapwrit's further racing upside as well as his prospects as a stallion, making it clear that Tapwrit will be supported by both programs' elite broodmare bands," Wellman said. "Combine that with Bridlewood making a commitment to retain a significant portion of its equity interest and we have the utmost confidence Tapwrit will be a star in the breeding shed, hopefully proving to be the heir apparent to Tapit. All partners' interests are aligned, and we are exceptionally excited about what the future holds for our classic winner, Tapwrit."
"Mandy and I are honored to be joining the Tapwrit partnership," Beck said. "Not only was Tapwrit a beautiful yearling, a stakes winner at 2, and a classic winner at 3, but he's also by Tapit out of a grade 1-winning 2-year-old. Those are tremendous credentials for a stallion prospect, but we are equally excited about his racing career and look forward to seeing him in the winner's circle."