Tapit Trice Could Become Tapit's Fifth Belmont Winner

Of the horses considered likely for the June 10 Belmont Stakes (G1), the third and final leg of the Triple Crown and a 1 1/2-mile race known as "The Test of the Champion," few would appear to have a stronger chance than Kentucky Derby (G1) third-place finisher Angel of Empire .

Out-quickened by a rallying Mage  on the second turn of the May 6 Derby at Churchill Downs, he finished fastest down the stretch of the 1 1/4-mile classic, a length and a half behind victorious Mage and a half-length behind runner-up Two Phil's —neither of whom is expected back in the Belmont. A solid final quarter-mile timed in just over :25 and trainer Brad Cox's long-held belief that Angel of Empire, winner of this year's Arkansas Derby (G1), appreciates longer distances, further emphasizes his Belmont legitimacy.

Yet on pedigree—more so than last-out form—the top contender for the Belmont is not Angel of Empire but Tapit Trice , the Derby's seventh-place finisher who passed tired horses late while losing ground on the top finishers.

Tapit Trice is a son of Gainesway stallion Tapit  , whose progeny have already won the Belmont four times, beginning with Tonalist   in 2014. The others that followed were Creator  in 2016, Tapwrit   in 2017, and Essential Quality   in 2021.

Last year he did not have an opportunity to push that win mark to five without a representative in the field.

Oddly, a horse by Tapit has yet to win the Derby or Preakness Stakes (G1), the other legs of the Triple Crown.

Tapit Trice, beaten 9 1/4 lengths in the Derby and 7 3/4 lengths behind Angel of Empire in the race, would also appear to be better suited to the Belmont's conditions compared to the Derby's. Though a medium-to-large field is anticipated, it will not come close to the Derby's 18-horse lineup—a benefit for a slow-starting horse who tends to resent kickback and wants to race in the clear. Last passing the stands for the first time in the Derby, he had 17 horses in front of him.

Jockey Luis Saez may elect to get him more involved in the middle portion of the Belmont, as he did in guiding him to victory in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) in April at Keeneland, presumably outside given the colt's tendencies. A wide trip over Belmont Park's sweeping turns often does not prove as costly as at other tracks.

Saez is a Belmont-winning jockey having won the race in 2021 on the Cox-trained Essential Quality   when the latter ran down pacesetting Hot Rod Charlie .

Pletcher is a four-time winner of the Belmont, having scored with the filly Rags to Riches  in 2007, Palace Malice   in 2013, Tapwrit four years later, and then finishing 1-2 with Mo Donegal   and Nest  last year. All four of his winners raced in the Belmont off a similar five-week layoff as Tapit Trice, with Rags to Riches  winning the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and the males rebounding after going unplaced in the Run for the Roses. 

"We've had good success training up to the Belmont after the Derby," Pletcher said May 7 at Churchill Downs of Tapit Trice. "I think he'll handle the distance. His pedigree suggests he will."

In addition to being by Tapit, Tapit Trice is out of the route- and stakes-winning Danzatrice , a daughter of 2009 Belmont runner-up Dunkirk , trained by Pletcher.

A winner of four of six starts and $883,650 for Whisper Hill Farm and his co-owner and breeder Gainesway Stable, Tapit Trice won the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) in advance of the Blue Grass on the Kentucky Derby trail this spring.

A $1.3 million purchase by Whisper Hill Farm from Gainesway's consignment to the September Yearling Sale at Keeneland, Tapit Trice already has the pedigree and racing accomplishments for a rewarding future at stud, with more to gain if he has success in a classic.

Angel of Empire is a son of third-crop Ashford Stud sire Classic Empire  ,  who has not yet been represented by a starter in the Belmont. None of his 3-year-olds of 2022 made the race last June, the first year he could have had one in it.

The champion 2-year-old of 2016, Classic Empire won the 2017 Arkansas Derby in advance of a fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby—notably racing in the same races as Angel of Empire and with similar results.

While Angel of Empire runs next in the Belmont, Classic Empire raced in the middle leg of the Triple Crown, the 1 3/16-mile Preakness, in 2017 and was caught in the race's closing strides by Cloud Computing   to finish second, beaten a head. The Preakness was his final start.

Angel of Empire, bred by Forgotten Land Investment and Black Diamond Equine, is out of the winless To Honor And Serve  mare Armony's Angel . He was a $70,000 purchase by Albaugh Family Stable from the Warrendale Sales consignment to the 2021 September Yearling Sale at Keeneland.

Indicative of Cox's faith in the colt's staying power, Angel of Empire has made six of his seven starts in two-turn dirt routes.

Both Cox and Pletcher could run multiple contenders in the Belmont, with Gary and Mary West's Hit Show , fifth in the Derby, another potential starter for Cox. Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Forte , a regulatory veterinarian scratch from the Derby due to a bruised foot, could run in the Belmont, as could Spendthrift Farm's Kingsbarns , a Derby pace casualty who ran 14th.

Hit Show, who ran competitively in the Derby despite breaking from the disadvantageous inside post position, is by Candy Ride   out of the Tapit mare Actress . He will try to replicate the success of Mo Donegal, whose Belmont victory last year followed a rail-starting fifth in the Derby.