Gainesway and Whisper Hill Join Tapwrit Partnership

Antony Beck's Gainesway Farm and Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm have acquired interests in Bridlewood Farm, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Robert V. LaPenta's GI Belmont S. hero and Aug. 26 GI Travers S. contender Tapwrit (Tapit–Appealing Zophie, by Successful Appeal), the partners announced Aug. 7. All five partners will race the son of Gainesway's champion sire Tapit, and will retain interests in Tapwrit's future breeding career. The plan is to continue racing the Todd Pletcher trainee through his 4-year-old season, before he eventually retires to Gainesway in Kentucky.

“Mr. and Mrs. Malone of Bridlewood Farm, Mr. LaPenta, and Eclipse are thrilled to welcome Gainesway and Whisper Hill into the Tapwrit partnership,” Eclipse president Aron Wellman said. “It is wonderful for them to participate in Tapwrit's racing career, and we are honored to know that Tapwrit will ultimately be standing alongside his legendary sire at Gainesway when the time comes for him to go to stud. Mr. Beck and Ms. Pope have expressed incredible faith in Tapwrit's further racing upside as well as his prospects as a stallion, making it clear that Tapwrit will be supported by both program' elite broodmare bands. Combine that with Bridlewood making a commitment to retain a significant portion of its equity interest and we have the utmost confidence Tapwrit will be a star in the breeding shed, hopefully proving to be the heir apparent to Tapit. All partners' interests are aligned, and we are exceptionally excited about what the future holds for our classic winner, Tapwrit.”

Bred by My Meadowview LLC in Kentucky, Tapwrit is out of GI Spinaway S. victress Appealing Zophie. The gray was snapped up by Bridlewood, Eclipse and LaPenta for $1.2 million out of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale in 2015. A four-time winner in eight starts with earnings of $1,143,902, Tapwrit captured the Pulpit S. at Gulfstream in December and parlayed a runner-up finish in the Feb. 11 GIII Sam F. Davis S. into a score in the Mar. 11 GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby. Following fifth and sixth-place finishes in the Apr. 8 GI Toyota Blue Grass S. and May 6 GI Kentucky Derby, respectively, he found his top form with a convincing two-length decision in the Belmont.

“Mandy and I are honored to be joining the Tapwrit partnership,” Beck said. “Not only was Tapwrit a beautiful yearling, a stakes winner at two and a classic winner at three, but he's also by Tapit out of a Grade I-winning 2-year-old. Those are tremendous credentials for a stallion prospect, but we are equally excited about his racing career and look forward to seeing him in the winner's circle.”