Stimulate Gives Tapit Another Stakes Winner in Dwyer

A few weeks ago, we wrote about the late flare-up for Medaglia d'Oro, whose nine 2026 stakes winners (five graded) include champion-elect Nitrogen and multiple grade 1 winner Tam Tam. Nitrogen was conceived when Medaglia d'Oro was 22 years old, and Tam Tam when he was 23. Despite those successes, the overall quality of a stallion's offspring inevitably declines over time—regardless of the class of mares bred—because of the diminished integrity of sperm and impacts of gene expression via methylation. With Medaglia d'Oro's the broad premise is, however, still valid: As good as Tam Tam is, she is the sole stakes winner from 84 foals in Medaglia d'Oro's 2023 crop. Furthermore, Medaglia d'Oro has been represented by just 11 black-type winners across his last four crops combined, whereas earlier in his career he recorded 11 or more stakes winners in a single crop six times. That said, two standout performances over the weekend came from a pair of stalwarts who are much nearer the end than the beginning of their stud careers. Twenty-two-year-old Hard Spun was represented by Runaway Again, who won the Autumn Stakes (G3) at Woodbine, and Pondering, who took the Bessarabian Stakes (G3) on the same card. Meanwhile, 25-year-old Tapit was responsible for Tap to Open, a 3 1/4-length winner of the Mother Goose Stakes (G2), and Stimulate, who pulled 7 1/2 lengths clear over a competitive-looking field in the Dwyer Stakes. The Tapit duo of Tap to Open and Stimulate are both 3-year-olds with genuine potential to make a major impact next year. That may be especially true of Stimulate, who recorded a career-high 107 Beyer Speed Figure—the joint-fastest by any 3-year-old at a mile or beyond in 2026. The Dwyer was only the fifth career start for Stimulate. He made just one appearance at two, finishing fifth in a 6-furlong maiden special weight at Saratoga Race Course. Reappearing 11 months later, the gray or roan colt scored by 2 3/4 lengths in a similar maiden race over 7 furlongs at the same track. After following up at a mile in a Saratoga allowance, Stimulate stepped up to stakes company in the 1 1/16-mile Bourbon Flight Stakes at Churchill Downs, where he finished third behind Plutarch and Local Knowledge (beaten 7 3/4 lengths). Although his breakout performance came when cut back to a mile, trainer Bill Mott remains confident that Stimulate will be effective around two turns. His next appearance could come at Gulfstream Park in either the Dec. 26 Harlan's Holiday Stakes (G3) or the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) Jan. 30. By taking the Dwyer Stakes, Stimulate became northern hemisphere foaled stakes winner 176 for Tapit. Tapit's roster of elite runners is headed by undefeated Horse of the Year and champion older male Flightline; Essential Quality, a champion at 2 and 3; champion 3-year-old filly Untapable; champion 2-year-old filly Stardom Bound; champion 2-year-old colt Hansen; and champion older mare and champion filly Sprinter Unique Bella. Thus, it's clear that like Medaglia d'Oro and Hard Spun, who once held the record for stakes winners in a single crop (17 from his initial year at stud), Tapit has been an exceptional stallion, a partial explanation for his ability to somewhat deny his age (although Tap to Open and Stimulate are the only stakes winners from 72 foals in is current 3-year-old crop). Stimulate is equally well-credentialed on the distaff side of his pedigree. He is the third foal out of the Medaglia d'Oro mare Elate, following the placed War Front filly Exhilarate and the stakes-placed Speightstown colt Excite. A high-class performer over three straight seaons, Elate showed championship-level form at 3 when winning the Alabama Stakes (G1) by 5 1/2 lengths, defeating her elders in the Beldame Stakes (G1) by 8 1/4 lengths, and finishing a close second to eventual Eclipse Award champion Abel Tasman in a nail-biting renewal of the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1). At 4, she returned to win the Delaware Handicap (G2) in two starts, and added the Fleur de Lis Handicap (G2) alongside a second victory in the Delaware Handicap at 5. Elate is out of the stakes-winning Distorted Humor mare Cheery. She belongs to a female line featuring seven consecutive stakes-winning mares—a sequence broken only by her eighth dam La Troienne. Though La Troienne was winless on the track, she became one of the most influential broodmares of the 20th century. One does not need to go back that far to find top-tier class: Elate's second dam, Yell, won the Davona Dale Stakes (G2) and Raven Run Stakes (G3), while placing second in the Mother Goose Stakes (G1) and third in the Kentucky Oaks (G1). A daughter of A.P. Indy, Yell is a three-quarters sister to successful sires Flatter and Congrats. Yell's dam, Wild Applause, won the Diana Handicap (G2) and Comely Stakes (G3) before producing four graded stakes winners—including undefeated Futurity Stakes (G1) winner Eastern Echo—establishing her as one of Northern Dancer's most prolific daughters. Wild Applause's dam Glowing Tribute is an ancestress of more than 50 stakes winners, including 1993 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Sea Hero and grade 1 winner Hero's Honor (a full brother to Wild Applause). Stimulate is one of four stakes winners by Tapit out of Medaglia d'Oro mares, a cross that has also produced graded scorers Tap It to Win and Coinage. He is inbred 3x4 to A.P. Indy (who himself carries three crosses of La Troienne) through Pulpit—sire of Tapit and through Yell. In addition, Pulpit represents an A.P. Indy/Mr. Prospector cross, the reverse of Stimulate's granddam Cheery.