Mischriff wore down Charlatan in the stretch to take the Saudi Cup.
The big favorites didn’t hit the board.
https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/246311/mishriff-upsets-charlatan-in-saudi-cup
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Tacitus just isn’t all that. He’s a solid G2, G3 horse, which with any other parents in any other stable would be a great thing to have. He must enjoy his job, though, as I trust that Juddmonte and Bill Mott wouldn’t keep pressing on with him if he didn’t.
and they’re sending Tacitus to the Dubai World Cup. Almost makes you feel bad for the horse. Consistently entered in the worlds’ biggest races on the biggest stages and he continually fails although typically h does hit the board.
I actually like Tacitus; he is a nice horse. But why continue to set the poor animal up for failure.
He’s made over 3.7 million in his lifetime.
He was entered in 3 G1’s in 2020 and was 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
He was entered in 2 G2’s and was 1st and 4th.
In 2019 he hit the board in every G1 and G2 race he was entered.
In his lifetime; he’s only come out on top 3 times (all of them being G2’s)
And its not like he doesn’t beat good horses when he races and doesn’t win. He beat Tiz the Law and Maximum Security; etc in the breeders cup despite placing 4th.
He is a consistent performer but lacks enough to prevent him from being a winner.
I like Bill Mott. But something isn’t working here and I am honestly surprised they keep trying but Juddmonte is probably driving the decisions here but after a disappointing 7th; the constant losing isn’t doing him any favors.
Based on the past performance stats you posted, Tacitus is far from a ‘failure’ IMO.
Horses may be entered in a race without necessarily a goal of winning the race. Sometimes hitting the board is the objective and there he appears to be successful.
Meydan is a different track than the track in Riyadh. The Dubai World Cup is a longer race. True, the 7th place finish didn’t do any favors for Tacitus; how much did the early fractions with Charlatan have to do with it?
What we also don’t know is what are 2021 plans for both contingents, Charlatan and Knicks Go as well as Sleepy Eyes Todd and Tacitus.
Curious that you feel the DWC is a bad choice for Tacitus based on the 7th place finish in the SC. Now if Tacitus runs poorly for the rest of the year, I might feel bad for him.
in the world of racehorses; if you’re not first, you’re last.
Lining up for stud deals in a competitive stallion market; people will be paying to breed to the ones who beat Tacitus; not the horse who was consistently 3rd.
Is he a good horse; yes. Is he a failure? absolutely not. He is consistent.
However; in the big picture he continues to be the horse who can’t get it done.
You must not keep your active race horses very long if its win or nothing or you just drop them down against weaker fields. Not like he’s dropping down in class trying to get a win for a hack outfit.
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I’m going to trust Bill Mott & Juddmonte to do right by the horse; both have excellent reputations in that regard.
Tacitus seems to be one of those horses for whom everything must line up perfectly in a race if he’s to win. The track, the post position, the pace - if all those stars aren’t in perfect alignment he will give it a try but a win is unlikely.
A $3.7 million bankroll is nothing to sneeze at, even if most of that was earned via 2nd and 3rd place finishes. He’s come in second and third behind some very, very good horses.
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I think you are addressing the wrong person. Mara was the poster who said Tacitus wasn’t all that and was only a solid G2 or G3 horse
I admire Tacitus. He is consistent. He appears to be very sound. He shows up to work everyday and he does his job and he does it well. He has outlasted many of his “better” counterparts. I think he’s more of the type of horse the breed needs. I actually think Tacitus is one of the best horses of his crop when you look at his ability to consistently hit the board and continue to race and train with no major adverse issues. But there are many who look at Tacitus and see a horse who was never quite good enough. Always came up short. Some will agree with those sentiments and others’ will think more along similar thoughts of mine.
This post came from you snaffle… not Mara.
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Nobody in the world of horseracing would call a horse who won the Wood Memorial and the Suburban Handicap, ran 2nd in the Belmont and the Travers, and was 3rd in the Kentucky Derby a “horse who can’t get it done.”
Fwiw, Tacitus isn’t looking for a stud deal. With that race record combined with his stellar pedigree, it’s most likely that his breeder and owner, Juddmonte Farm will stand him.
With regard to your first comment:
Charlatan just ran 2nd in the Saudi Cup and earned 3.5M for his efforts. Do you think his connections feel like he ran last?
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Comparing 2nd to last is being a bit sarcastic, isn’t it. But yes, from a marketing aspect and overall profitability of a potential sire; there is a difference in marketing a horse who won the Saudi Cup compared to one who hit the board. But again; the purses are so big in these races that the current connections probably could care less because the check was so large.
The fact that Tacitus isnt looking for a Stud deal is precisely why he continues to run in the biggest races and jet sets all over the place. They are perfectly content with him being 1st or 3rd.
This might make sense if Juddmonte was considering selling Tacitus. I would suspect, as LaurieB said, they aren’t so they can race or stand him whenever they want; they don’t need a ‘stud deal’.
I’m still not seeing why you feel that Tacitus ‘can’t get it done’ based on the past performances that you listed. Most racehorse owners would be thrilled with his on-track performance record.
God knows I don’t speak for Juddmonte and that stable has had a measure of success that mere mortals can only envy. But how jaded do you have to be not to get a thrill out of campaigning a runner that is a legitimate threat in a major international race? Pretty jaded according to some in here.
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Tacitus have never really been my favorite but he performs race after race. Maybe he doesn’t win in every race but he is often on the board in the big races. In my book, nothing to sneeze at.
True Juddmonte could maybe make more $$ with Tacitus in the shed but maybe not - if his pedigree doesn’t charm the mare owners and potential buyers, maybe leave him on the track until he says he’s done.
