Tapiture’s 3-year-old colt Vertical Threat turned in a career-best performance in the $200,000 Steel Valley Sprint S. Nov. 23 at Mahoning Valley, rolling to a 7 1/2-length victory in the six-furlong contest.
Hustled out of the gate, Vertical Threat took the lead soon after the break and was never headed. He covered the half-mile in :45.59 with a 1 1/2-length lead, then pulled away with authority in the stretch to finish the distance in 1:10.07 on a sloppy main track. He earned a lifetime-best Beyer Speed Figure of 102 for the effort.
Vertical Threat, who won the Smiling Tiger S. at Del Mar in June, is now 3-0-0 in five starts and has earned $182,950 for co-owners MyRacehorse.com and Slam Dunk Racing.
Vertical Threat was bred in Kentucky by Albert and Teresa Davis and sold for $100,000 to MyRacehorse at the 2019 OBS Spring Sale of 2-year-olds.
Tapiture is America’s leading Second-Crop sire of 2020 by winners, with 80, and wins (107), and is in the top five by progeny earnings, black type winners and black type horses. He had his biggest crop of mares to date (186) this past breeding season, and will stand 2021 for $10,000 S&N.
