First Foal Out of Champion Groupie Doll Set to Debut

Much of the focus at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots Jan. 13 will be placed on the field of sophomore runners chasing classic dreams in the Lecomte Stakes (G3). Earlier on the card however, Tapability, the first foal out of two-time champion female sprinter Groupie Doll, will be making his career debut for trainer Buff Bradley.

By leading Gainesway sire Tapit , 3-year-old Tapability is owned and bred by Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm. Pope purchased Groupie Doll for $3.1 million at the 2013 Keeneland November sale days after the daughter of Bowman's Band won the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) for a second consecutive year.

Following that lucrative purchase, Groupie Doll remained in training under the care of Bradley—who co-owned and bred the chestnut filly along with his father, Fred, and campaigned her in partnership with Brent Burns and Carl Hurst—and made two final starts before going off to the breeding shed. 

After running fourth against males in the 2013 Cigar Mile Handicap (G1), Groupie Doll capped off her career with a seven-length victory in the 2014 Hurricane Bertie Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park. Given that Groupie Doll was the first champion and Breeders' Cup winner raised and campaigned by his family, Bradley has an obvious sense of pride in conditioning her first foal.

"We're very happy and very thrilled to be able to train him," Bradley said. "Mandy has been very nice to us and has the confidence in us to send him to us at let us train him. Apparently (Tapit and Groupie Doll nicked pretty well) because that's where the next couple of babies are coming from. The next one is a filly and then there's another Tapit colt. It's pretty exciting to be able to run this horse."

In preparation for his career debut, Tapability worked a half-mile in :49 4/5 over the Fair Grounds main track Jan. 6.

"He breezed Saturday morning from the gate," Bradley said. "He's been a little slow coming out of there so we were glad that he breezed very well out of the gate this morning. He's ready to go."

Tapability's development required patience; he was born about a week premature in March of 2015. He has been working steadily since last April, however, and Bradley compared the chestnut colt to his champion mother in terms of their behavior around the barn.

"He's pretty much like Groupie Doll in his aggressiveness," Bradley said. "When he gets out there and wants to do it, you can see that he's really on it. She might have been a little more laid back around the barn area whereas he's a bit more aggressive around the barn and in his stall. It's probably (because he's a) colt, but you can tell that he's a very happy horse, always wants to play. He's very manageable though, and he's a very happy horse."