Tacitus Full Sis Keeps it in the Family With Debut Win

This column highlights the performances of maidens who have made no more than five starts and who either sold for more than $500,000 at public auction, have siblings that are grade/group winners, or have dams that are grade/group winners. BloodHorse research shows maiden winners, in particular, who meet these criteria are more likely to go on to be graded stakes winners.

Keeneland

When the powerful Juddmonte Farm sends out a homebred on debut, especially one whose full sibling was multi-millionaire Tacitus  , people tend to take notice. Juddmonte, founded by the late Prince Khalid Bin Abdullah, has long been renowned for its outstanding breeding program on both sides of the Atlantic. Among their domestic homebred stars, they can count Flintshire , Sightseek, and Empire Maker, in addition to 2014 champion older mare Close Hatches, the dam of dazzling April 15 Keeneland debut winner Scylla .

WATCH: Bill Mott Discusses Keeneland Debut Victress Scylla

Just as her mother did, Scylla broke her maiden as a 3-year-old sprinting around one turn. The Tapit   filly turned in a professional effort April 15 in $100,000 maiden special weight against 11 other rivals, netting a sparkling 105 Equibase Speed Figure in the process.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, keenly familiar with the family as the conditioner of both Tacitus and Close Hatches, was on hand at Keeneland for the filly's anticipated unveiling.

"It was very good. She got squeezed midway down the backside and he (jockey Javier Castellano) had to let her slide on out of there but she recovered well and she circled the field and she did it without (much asking)," Mott said. "He was hand-riding her (to the finish). I don't think he ever touched her with the whip other than maybe tap her on the shoulder."

After a tardy break, Castellano and Scylla slowly worked their way into contention from eighth position past the first quarter. Looming five-wide around the turn for home, the filly zeroed in on the frontrunner, the favored Zeitlos  from the Steve Asmussen barn, and stormed to the lead inside the final sixteenth.

Scylla stopped the clock in a final time of 1:10.32 for six furlongs on a fast main track.

Both Tacitus and Close Hatches excelled longer distances, with Close Hatches scoring every one of her four grade 1 victories over a trip of at least 1 1/16 miles and Tacitus racing to the biggest win of his career when annexing the 2020 Suburban Handicap (G2) over 1 1/4 miles. The elegant gray or roan Tacitus, rising to prominence in the months before the 2019 Kentucky Derby (G1) after bagging wins in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) and Wood Memorial (G2), became beloved by the racing public after his gallant showing in the Triple Crown series, where he was third in the Run for the Roses and second in the Belmont Stakes (G1).

If Scylla's pedigree is any indication of her aptitude for two-turn distances, her maiden race certainly proved as such, as she traveled wide for most of the six-furlong journey.

"She looks like seven-eighths to a mile shouldn't be a problem but two turns we hope is in her future," Mott said.

"Tacitus was a very good horse. He made over $3 million dollars for us he ran in all the major races and always competed very well and her mother is a champion. With Tacitus being a full sibling and her mother being Close Hatches there's a lot of pedigree there."