Sky of Hook closed resolutely in the lane to post a narrow victory in a $62,000 maiden special weight at Belmont Park on Friday, becoming the first winner for Darby Dan Farm stallion Tapiture.
Ridden in the five-furlong test by Luis Saez, Sky of Hook is owned by EV Racing and was bred in New York by EV and NC Corp. Rudy Rodriguez saddled Sky of Hook, who was making his career debut off a steady series of drills. Sky of Hook is produced from the winning Latent Heat mare Ambitious Dancer.
Tapiture is a five-time Graded stakes-winning son of Tapit. On the track, Tapiture broke his maiden in the Kentucky Jockey Club. S. (G2) at two by a runaway 4 ¼ lengths. In his first start at three, he cruised to another dominant 4 ¼-length score in the Southwest S. (G3) at Oaklawn. He also registered wins in the Matt Winn S. (G3) at Churchill and in the West Virginia Derby (G2) at three, and in the Ack Ack S. (G3) at Churchill as a 4-year-old. He retired in 2016 with career earnings of $1,536,820.
