Tapicat wins stakes debut in Florida Oaks

It Happened Again returned from a more than five-month (Tom Cooley Photography) Owner Benjamin Leon and trainer Bill Mott are expecting a big year out of two-time champion mare Royal Delta, and they also have a rapidly-developing three-year-old filly named Tapicat who stamped herself a rising star with a facile victory in Saturday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Florida Oaks at Tampa Bay Downs. As expected, Tapicat took the early lead in what appeared to a paceless affair on paper. Under Joel Rosario, the daughter of Tapit was under a firm hold as she set splits of :23 3/5, :47 and 1:10 2/5. Approaching the quarter pole, the chestnut was allowed to display her supremacy and scooted clear to win by 2 3/4 lengths while never seriously threatened. Tapicat completed 1 1/16 miles on the firm turf in a swift 1:39.78, just .13 seconds off the 14-year-old course record of 1:39.65. The 4-5 favorite in a field of 10, Tapicat paid $3.80, $3 and $2.40. “She broke well and took the lead comfortably, she settled right down and I was able to get her to relax,” Rosario said. “I wanted to have enough for the stretch run and no one came after us. When we got into the stretch she was still going along well, she was looking around a little mid-stretch, just seeing where she was. We won with something left.”

Kitten’s Dumplings, the 8-1 fourth choice, rallied from mid-pack to finish
second by a neck over 5-2 second choice Wave Theory, who had two lengths on
third choice Rusty Slipper. Completing the order of finish were Raven’s Rockette,
Floral Sky, Cindys Casino, Cotton Pickin, Caraquista, and Mariel N Kathy. Jadira
and Toasting were scratched.

Third in her six-furlong debut on the Belmont Park main track last October,
Tapicat has now won three straight since switching to grass. A narrow
three-quarters of a length winner of her December 2 turf debut at Gulfstream
over next-out winner Tokyo Time, Tapicat returned to action at the same venue
January 9 and turned in another gate-to-wire victory, against allowance foes,
beating her closest pursuer by 5 1/4 lengths. Her record now stands at 4-3-0-1,
$118,100.

“She has a tremendous amount of early speed and a nice stride,” Mott said.
“And she seems to be able to carry her speed, so that’s a dangerous combination.
She broke one step slow and took a little bump from a horse inside, but she was
quickly able to regain her position and only needed three or four strides to get
back in the race.

“She’s had three races this winter and I kind of planned on not running her
right back. I supposed we will have to consider if we want to take a chance on
the synthetic in the (Grade 1) Ashland at Keeneland.”

Bred in Kentucky by Winchell Thoroughbreds and Gainsway Thoroughbreds,
Tapicat was a $725,000 Keeneland September yearling. She was produced by the
winning Storm Cat mare Zealous Cat, a half-sister to the dam of Grade 1 winner
Pohave.

Tapicat’s third dam was 1982 champion older female Track Robbery, who
produced multiple Grade 3 winner Train Robbery. The latter was the dam of
multiple Grade 1 winner and $3.9 million-earner Cat Thief.