Tap Daddy Dances to $100,000 BMW James W. Murphy Win
Tap Daddy Dances to $100,000 BMW James W. Murphy Win
BALTIMORE – Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Tap Daddy disposed of stalking rival California Night at the top of the stretch and sprinted clear to a 6 ½-length victory in the $100,000 BMW James W. Murphy Saturday at legendary Pimlico Race Course.
The 53rd running of the James Murphy for 3-year-olds was the first of eight stakes, four graded, worth $2.55 million in purses on a 14-race program highlighted by the 143rd renewal of the Preakness Stakes (G1), the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.
Ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr. for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who were to team up later with Tenfold for the same ownership in the Preakness, Tap Daddy ($5.80) ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.67 over a sloppy and sealed main track. The Murphy was originally carded for one mile on the turf course.
It was the third stakes win of the weekend for Santana and second for Asmussen, the pair also joining forces to win the $100,000 Skipat to kick off Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan Day stakes. Tap Daddy ran third in the Bourbon (G3) last October at Keeneland in a race also rained off the grass.
Tap Daddy set fractions of 23.52 seconds, 47.26 and 1:11.82 pressed by California Night to his outside, with the tandem of Takedown and Threes Over Deuces right behind. Santana gave Tap Daddy his cue around the turn and the two left their rivals behind to give the Scat Daddy colt his first career stakes win.
Threes Over Deuces got up for second, 1 ¼ lengths ahead of Takedown. They were followed by Whirlin Curlin, California Night and Magicalmeister.
First run as the Woodlawn Stakes, the Murphy was renamed in 2010 in honor of the longtime trainer of nearly 1,400 winners who spent much of his career in Maryland and passed away June 13, 2009 at the age of 82. In 1994, Murphy won the Pimlico Distaff (G3) and Miss Preakness (G3) during 1994 Preakness week.
$100,000 BMW James W. Murphy Stakes Quotes
Steve Asmussen (Winning Trainer, Tap Daddy) – “He ran well in the off going. He’s just a very nice horse. He's a very versatile horse.''
“Everyone always says speed is good in the mud because if you handle it you handle it immediately. He did, and when he went to the wire he was taking to it very much. He handle it early and he handled it late."
Ricardo Santana Jr. (Winning Jockey, Tap Daddy) – “We had a lot of confidence in the horse. I knew he was going to run well. He ran well in the mud in a big race at Keeneland [third in the Bourbon (G3)]. My plan was to put him on the lead, let him keep going, and what's what he did."
