Printer Friendly Page 

Pleasant Tap euthanized after bout with laminitis

Pleasant Tap was a versatile champion who promises to leave an enduring legacy (Tony Leonard Photo) PLEASANT TAP (Pleasant Colony), the champion older horse of 1992 and an influential sire, was euthanized on Friday at Mr. and Mrs. William S. Farish's Lane's End Farm near Versailles, Kentucky, the farm announced Monday. The 23-year-old had developed laminitis. A homebred campaigned by Thomas Mellon Evans, Pleasant Tap was sired by another Evans homebred champion, Pleasant Colony, hero of the 1981 Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness S. (G1). Pleasant Tap was out of Never Knock (Stage Door Johnny), making him a half-brother to 1994 Kentucky Derby winner, Go for Gin (Cormorant). Pleasant Tap won or placed in a total of 18 stakes while bankrolling $2,271,169. As a juvenile, the bay broke his maiden with a last-to-first rally in the 1989 Sunny Slope S. at Santa Anita, defeating Grand Canyon. After a sixth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Gulfstream Park, he concluded the season with a near-miss second in the grassy Hoist the Flag S. at Hollywood Park.

Third in the 1990 Kentucky Derby, Pleasant Tap later fell a nose shy versus older horses in the Native Diver H. (G3), and ended the year on a high note when closing from a dozen lengths back to capture the seven-furlong Malibu S. (G2).

Pleasant Tap's career as an older horse was likewise marked by his effectiveness over a wide range of distances. Runner-up in the 1991 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) at six furlongs, he had previously placed in that year's Santa Anita H. (G1) at 1 1/4 miles.

Peaking at the age of five for trainer Christopher Speckert, Pleasant Tap garnered a pair of seven-furlong stakes, the Commonwealth S. (G3) and Churchill Downs H. (G3), before rallying for runner-up honors in the one-mile Metropolitan H. (G1). He stretched out later in 1992 and earned his divisional Eclipse Award by virtue of victories in two historic 10-furlong events, the Suburban H. (G1) and the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), the latter by 4 1/2 lengths. Making his career finale in the Breeders' Cup Classic, he defeated all of his rivals but A.P. Indy, who went on to become Horse of the Year and a celebrated Lane's End stallion.

Pleasant Tap entered stud in 1993 at his owner's Buckland Farm and was relocated to Lane's End in 1997. At stud, he has sired 53 stakes winners, and his progeny have earned more than $51 million.

His leading performers include multiple English highweight David Junior, winner of the 2005 Champion S. (Eng-G1) and 2006 Dubai Duty Free (UAE-G1) and Eclipse S. (Eng-G1), and champion Premium Tap, the 2006 Woodward S. (G1) and Clark H. (G1) victor who was transferred to Saudi Arabia and took the prestigious Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup in 2007. Other notable progeny were multiple Grade 1 Japanese star Tap Dance City, hero of the 2003 Japan Cup (Jpn-G1); multiple Grade 1 scorer and classic-placed Tiago; and Grade 1 heroine Tap to Music, who also landed the lucrative Delaware H. (G3).

Pleasant Tap has been making an impact as a broodmare sire as well. His daughters have produced the likes of Sahpresa (Sahm), who recently captured the Sun Chariot S. (Eng-G1) for the second straight year, and Breeders' Cup Classic candidate Pleasant Prince (Indy King), an impressive winner of Sunday's Oklahoma Derby.

"We are saddened by the loss of Pleasant Tap," Will Farish said. "He was an outstanding racehorse and an extremely successful sire."

More Racing Headlines:

Miss Temple City earns hard-fought victory in Matriarch

Annals of Time captures first stakes win in Hollywood Derby

Penn Derby upgraded to Grade 1 for 2017

Miss Temple City headlines Del Mar's closing-day Matriarch

Trio of graded stakes on tap Saturday

Send this article to a friend