Trappe Shot Latest Sire Heading to Turkey

Claiborne Farm's multiple grade 1-placed grade 2 winner Trappe Shot  has become the fourth United States-based stallion since June to be sold to a Turkish breeder, the Kentucky farm announced Aug. 28.

The 12-year-old son of Tapit  has been sold to renowned Istanbul owner/breeders Lale and Zeynep Atman's Atman Stud, where the stallion will stand.

Trappe Shot was the fourth black-type winner and second graded stakes winner produced by the Private Account winner Shopping. Bred in Florida by Hobeau Farm, Trappe Shot was purchased for a record $850,000 by agent Steve Young at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale and was campaigned by Nick Brady's Mill House stable.

As a racehorse, Trappe Shot broke his maiden by 10 1/4 lengths in the first start of his 3-year-old year at Gulfstream Park and second time out. He won his next three starts, which included a victory in the Long Branch Stakes at Monmouth Park. The Izod Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) was his first start in graded company, resulting in a second to champion Lookin At Lucky . Trappe Shot began his 4-year-old season with consecutive wins in the Waldoboro Stakes and the True North Handicap (G2), both at Belmont Park. He would next finish second by a nose in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1) and later contest the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), where he finished fourth.

As a sire, Trappe Shot has been represented by nine (2%) black-type winners to date, of which five are graded stakes winners. His top runner to date is Untrapped, who earned $857,005, won the Oklahoma Derby (G3) and placed in seven other graded stakes. His daughter Hotshot Anna is a multiple graded stakes winner who set a seven-furlong track record of 1:20.93 at Arlington International Racecourse while winning the 2018 Chicago Handicap (G3).

To date, Trappe Shot has sired 220 winners (73% from starters) that have earned more than $16 million. He is the third-leading sire of his class by number of graded stakes performers with 10 behind Uncle Mo  and Twirling Candy .

North American-bred stallions have fared particularly well in Turkey. On the Jockey Club of Turkey's lifetime leading sires list, the top four stallions were all bred in the U.S. or Canada, led by Victory Gallop with nearly 92.9 million lira (US$15,921,000) in total progeny earnings and followed by Unaccounted For, Royal Abjar, and Mountain Cat. Turkey's top 12 leading sires also include Strike the Gold, Sri Pekan, and Lion Heart.

The Last Romance, this year's Gazi Derby (G1) winner, was sired by Tizway, whom Nimet Arif Kurtel recently acquired and will stand at Karacabey Stud. Victory Gallop and Lion Heart also stand at Karacabey. In June, Kurtel also announced he'd purchased Bluegrass Cat  and Air Vice Marshal. Tizway cannot be directly exported from South Korea to Turkey, so the stallion will join Bluegrass Cat and Air Vice Marshal at Elmendorf Farm near Lexington. The three stallions will be shipped to Turkey in January.