Souper Tapit Gets Graded Score in Marine Stakes

Live Oak Plantation's homebred Souper Tapit seized control as the field of the Marine Stakes (G3) headed for home and widened his advantage down the lane at Woodbine May 28.

Trained by Mark Casse, the Tapit colt went off as the 9-5 favorite in the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds over the synthetic track.

Casse brought Souper Tapit to the Canadian track after the colt broke his maiden on debut and placed fifth in his second start at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots before going on to a seventh-place finish in the Stonestreet Lexington Stakes (G3) April 15 at Keeneland in his most recent effort.  

Souper Tapit had a troubled start in the 1 1/16-mile Lexington, where he checked hard and clipped heels entering the first turn. Second after six furlongs, Souper Tapit retreated down the lane.

In Sunday's race, Montu led the way, setting splits of :23.17 and :47.67 with Conquest Lemonraid pressing the pace. Florent Geroux had Souper Tapit comfortably placed in third as the lead duo duked it out in front of them.

As the field turned for home, Geroux called upon Souper Tapit for his best run as a hard-charging Channel Maker loomed a threat to their outside. They soon separated themselves from the field, and Souper Tapit was able to extend his head advantage in the stretch into a two-length win. Malibu Secret finished third, 5 3/4-lengths behind Channel Maker. 

Geroux was expecting a big performance from the Florida-bred, a horse that can be difficult to ride at times.

"He's extremely talented," Geroux said. "We just tried to keep him quiet and when he's that way, he can perform very well. He's not very easy. His last race was not very good. Mark and his staff did a great job with him. They put a lot of work and effort into him. I'm glad I was able to deliver the nice win for them today."

Kathryn Sullivan, assistant trainer to Casse, was equally pleased to see the colt put together a strong showing on the Toronto oval's Tapeta. 

"We've really liked him all along," she said. "He's been really high on our list of 3-year-olds right from the start. He does have his challenges. He has a mind of his own sometimes, but he was great today. We're really happy going forward with him."

Souper Tapit improved his record to 2-0-0 from four starts.