BY LAURIE ROSS
Tapit’s name carries weight in any sales ring or breeding shed and Magic On Tap (Tapit—Aubby K, by Street Sense) brings that bloodline to Florida breeders at Pleasant Acres Stallions. The only son of Tapit standing in the state, the Grade 2 winner is backed by a Grade 1-winning dam, offering win-early class and the kind of versatile pedigree that can carry his progeny beyond state lines.
AT THE RACES
Conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, the Summer Wind Farm homebred showed promise right out of the gate, winning his six-and-a-half-furlong debut at Del Mar over Gray Magician, who was later multiple Grade 2-placed, and Extra Hope, an eventual Grade 3 winner and Grade 1 placed.
Magic on Tap then had two seconds and a win in first-level, $40,000 optional claiming races, the victory coming in his fourth start at a mile-and-a-sixteenth.
He was next fourth in the nine-furlong Californian (Grade 2) his stakes debut but bounced back in the seven-furlong 2021 Triple Bend Stakes (G2), beating Grade 1-winner Eight Rings and eventual Grade 1-winning miler Exaulted.
In his next start, the pretty gray colt lost all chance after stumbling at the start of the San Diego Handicap (G2) and checked in fifth, then was off the board in the Pacific Classic (G1). After placing fourth after a five-wide trip in the Los Alamitos Special at a mile-and-a-sixteenth, Magic on Tap retired with $240,300 in nine starts, hitting the board in five of them.
PEDIGREE
Magic On Tap’s pedigree pairs one of North America’s most important sire lines with a leading top 20 damsire, while his female family adds the early speed, toughness and production that has carried through generations.
While most stallions his age are enjoying retirement, Tapit (Pulpit—Tap Your Heels, by Unbridled) is still going strong at 26, with 20 crops of foals and 10 champions. His stud career may be easing into its final chapters, the old man’s influence is far from finished.
A three-time North American champion sire from 2014 through 2016 and a top-five sire by earnings from 2017 through 2021, Tapit remains one of the defining stallions of the modern era.
Since 2014, four of his sons have won the Belmont Stakes (G1), matching the mark of legendary sire Lexington. Now his sons are carrying the line forward, with 14 standing in North America for $5,000 or more and 232 stallion sons standing worldwide.
Precocious class abounds in Magic on Tap’s distaff line. His first through third dams won in their first two starts and evolved into stakes winners and black-type producers.
Aubby K (Street Sense – Lilly Capote, by Capote) proved to be special right out of the gate with an eye-catching 15 1/2 length maiden victory under the Churchill Downs spirals. She matured into a brilliant, classy sprinter, capturing the Humana Distaff (G1) and Inside Information (G2), plus finishing third in the Chicago Handicap (G3), and in the one-mile Acorn (G1), while competing successfully over dirt, mud and synthetic. From nine starts, she bankrolled $435,004.
Aubby K produced only four foals before her premature passing; two of them black-type earners: Magic on Tap and his full older brother, Principe Guilherme, who placed second in the 2017 Lecomte and third in Churchill’s Cherokee Run. He compiled $274,926 in 38 starts over seven years.
Aubby K’s half-brothers, Mythical Pegasus and Flying Pegasus, both by Fusaichi Pegasus, demonstrated the family’s win-early traits, both placing in the Belmont Futurity (G2). Additionally, Flying Pegasus placed in the Risen Star (G3) as a 3-year-old. Half-brother America’s Storm (Storm Cat), placed in a pair of stakes as a 4-year-old.
A half-sister, Golden Lilly (Deputy Minister) bore Frizette (G1)-placed Lilly Carson.
The well-traveled second dam, Lilly Capote (Capote), brought her racetrack with her. She won her second start by 13 1/2 lengths at Belmont, then returned with another eye-catching performance in Keeneland’s Indian Summer Stakes. After finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Alcibiades (G2) and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), Lilly Capote dominated the 1994 Golden Rod (G3) by five-and-a-half lengths.
As a 3-yeaer-old, she won the Magnolia (Listed) at Oaklawn, and the Miss Preakness (Listed) at Pimlico. She also placed in the Honeybee (G3) beaten a half-length, and third in the Martha Washington (Listed) in a three-way photo. She retired at age four with 13 starts and $265,800 in earnings.
Magic on Tap’s third dam, the Florida-bred London Lil (London Company – Lil’s Day, by Misty Day), was a fixture at Calder Racecourse. She won second time out and the 1981 Gardenia Stakes, both as a 2-year-old. As a 3-year-old, she won or placed in five stakes, including the mile-and-an-eighth La Prevoyante Handicap (G3). London Lil’s class carried forward to her descendants, including the American Oaks (G1)-heroine, Room Service.
Kentucky Derby hero Street Sense (Street Cry (Ire) – Bedazzle, by Dixieland Band) is the damsire of 59 black type winners and is among the top 20 broodmare sires in North America. His daughter’s offspring generally have a distance range up to a mile-and-an-eighth, although Roaring Lion (Kitten’s Joy) was a prestigious multiple Group 1 winner in England and Ireland, including the Queen Elizabeth II at a mile and the Juddmonte International at a mile-and-five-sixteenths.
The small but promising Tapit/Street Sense cross has produced four starters, three winners, and one black type winner. It was predicated by the Tapit/Street Cry (Ire) cross, which produced a pair of graded winning fillies: Greatest Honour (Tapit – Tiffany’s Honour, by Street Cry(Ire)) with earnings of $446,440 in ten starts, and Lake Avenue (Tapit – Seventh Street by Street Cry(Ire)), who earned $573,787 in 15 starts.
STUD CAREER
“’The moment Magic on Tap stepped off the van upon his arrival at Pleasant Acres Stallions, we knew he would produce exceptional foals,’ Director of Stallion Services Christine Jones observed.
Magic On Tap entered stud in 2023. His initial crop has drawn buyer interest and is already yielding runners. All five 2-year-olds sold for a $171,000 gross at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales March and Spring auctions, and his first representative, the Richard Arnold homebred Silver Magic (Magic On Tap – Magical Madam, by Put It Back), placed second in her four-and-a-half furlong debut on May 2.
Magic On Tap is an intriguing fit for a Florida program that rewards win-early speed, soundness and options. He projects to sire runners with enough tactical speed to get involved early and enough versatility to give breeders more than one path to the winner’s circle.
He stands the 2026 season for $5,000 stands and nurses.
Return to the May 5 issue of Wire to Wire
