Tap On Wood

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Tap On Wood
Sire
2000 Guineas (1979)
Kiveton Park Stakes
(1979)
Awards
Timeform rating: 113 (1978), 130 (1979)

Tap On Wood (15 February 1976 – 25 December 1999) was an Irish-bred British-trained

Derby and winning the Kiveton Park Stakes
. He subsequently had some success as a breeding stallion in Europe and Japan.

Background

Tap On Wood was a chestnut horse with no white

1000 Guineas winner Rose Royale.[2]

As a yearling, Tap On Wood was sent to the sales and was bought for 12,500 guineas.[3] During his racing career he was owned by Tony Shead and trained by Barry Hills at Lambourn in Berkshire.

Racing career

1978: two-year-old season

Tap On Wood had an unusually active two-year-old season for a top-class European racehorse: by September he had already run ten times and won six races at distances from five to seven

21/1 outsider and finished sixth of the twelve runners, six lengths behind the winner Irish River. On his final appearance of the year he was well-beaten when finishing sixth behind Kris in the Horris Hill Stakes at Newbury.[3]

1979: three-year-old season

Tap On Wood began his second season in April at

1000 Guineas. On 5 May, Tap On Wood started a 20/1 outsider in a field of 20 runners for the 171st running of the 2000 Guineas over the Rowley Mile course at Newmarket Racecourse.[4] The favourite for the race was Kris, who had won the Greenham Stakes on his seasonal debut, while Lyphard's Wish, who had defeated the previous year's champion two-year-old Tromos in the Craven Stakes was also strongly fancied. Ridden by the American jockey Steve Cauthen, Tap On Wood raced towards the back of the field before moving up to contest the lead with three furlongs left to run. In the closing stages three colts drew clear of the field, with Tap On Wood challenged by Kris on the rails to his right and Young Generation on his left. In what Timeform described as "a memorable finish" Tap On Wood prevailed by half a length from Kris, with Young Generation a short head away in third place, giving Cauthen his first win in a British classic race.[5] Cauthen would go on to win a total of ten British classic races in his career.[6][7]

On 6 June, Tap On Wood was moved up in distance to contest the 200th

Derby Stakes over one and a half miles at Epsom Downs Racecourse. He was never in serious contention and finished twelfth of the twenty-three runners behind Troy. Cauthen reported that the colt was never going well at any stage of the race. Shortly after the Derby, Tap On Wood was found to be suffering from a viral infection and was off the course for the next three months. During this period the form of his 2000 Guineas win was boosted: Kris won the St James's Palace Stakes, Sussex Stakes and Celebration Mile while Young Generation who had defeated older horses the Lockinge Stakes in May, traveled to France to take the Prix Jean Prat.[5]

Tap On Wood returned in the Kiveton Park Stakes at Doncaster Racecourse in September for which he was required to carry a ten-pound weight penalty for his classic win. Starting at odds of 11/4[8] he looked impressive before the race and won convincingly by a length and one and a half lengths from R B Chesne and Alert. Tap On Wood was scheduled to meet Kris for a third time in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot later that month but he suffered a recurrence of the viral infection and did not race again.[5]

Assessment

In 1978, the independent Timeform organisation described Tap On Wood as "a thoroughly likeable individual" and awarded him a rating of 113, twenty-one pounds below their top-rated two-year-old Tromos. In the Free Handicap, a ranking of the best two-year-olds to race in Britain, the colt was given a weight of 118 pounds, fifteen pounds inferior to Tromos.[3] In 1979, Tap On Wood was rated 130 by Timeform, five pounds below Kris and seven below the leading three-year-old Troy. He was described in their annual Racehorses of 1979 as having shown "outstanding toughness and generosity and the ability to act on any type of going".[5] In the International Classification, he was rated the seventh best three-year-old colt in Europe behind Troy, Le Marmot, Irish River, Kris, Bellypha and Dickens Hill.

In their book, A Century of Champions, based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Tap On Wood an "average" winner of the 2000 Guineas.[9]

Stud record

At the end of his three-year-old season, Tap On Wood was syndicated at a value of £1 million and retired to stand as a breeding stallion at the Kildangan Stud in

Grosser Preis von Düsseldorf), From The Wood (Concorde Stakes), Ozopulmin (Criterium Nazionale), Miss Boniface (Ribblesdale Stakes), Mahogany (Fred Darling Stakes), Sedulous (Killavullan Stakes), Ibadiyya (Prix Chloé), Rappa Tap Tap (Blue Seal Stakes) and Knock Knock (18 wins including the Chesterfield Cup).[11] His last foals were born in 1999. He was reported to have died on 25 December 1999 by the Japanese Stud Book.[12]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Tap On Wood (IRE), chestnut stallion, 1976[1]
Sire
Sallust (GB)
1969 		Pall Mall (IRE)
1955 		Palestine Fair Trial
Una
Malapert Portlaw
Malatesta
Bandarilla (GB)
1960 		Matador Golden Cloud
Spanish Galantry
Interval Jamaica Inn
Second Act
Dam
Cat O'Mountaine (GB)
1967 		Ragusa (IRE)
1960 		Ribot Tenerani
Romanella
Fantan Ambiorix
Red Eye
Marie Elizabeth (IRE)
1948 		Mazarin Mieuxce
Boiarinia
Miss Honor Mr Jinks
Bayora (Family: 14-f)[2]

References

  1. ^ a b "Tap On Wood pedigree". Equineline. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Thoroughbred Bloodlines – Honoria – Family 14-f". Bloodlines.net. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  3. ^
    ISBN 0-900599-27-8
    .
  4. ISBN 0-85112-902-1
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 0-900599-29-4
    .
  6. ^ "Cauthen the American beauty; Value Scope A Legend on THE LEGENDS Week 2: STEVE CAUTHEN". The Mirror (London, England), via thefreelibrary.com. 17 May 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  7. ^ "British racing is whipping itself to death, says Steve Cauthen". Mirror.co.uk. 30 October 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  8. ISBN 978-1-873626-15-3
    .
  9. ISBN 978-1-901570-15-1
    .
  10. ^ "Kyoei Tap". www.jbis.or.jp. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  11. ^ "Tap On Wood Stud Record". Racing Post. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  12. ^ Staff. "Tap on Wood (IRE)". Japan Race Horse Registry. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
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