The Holy Bull Stakes (Grade 3) (KYD)- $250.000 Purse
GP- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
February 3, 2024
As February begins, we are now three months away from the KYD, but we are still a long way away from knowing who the field will be for the big race. Twenty valuable points will be at stake here, and we’re just two weeks away now from the first fifty-point race. The Holy Bull first appeared on the schedule in 2004 but was only run for a $100.000 purse. This would increase all the way to $400.000 in 2012, where it stood for a few years before it began to decline. The present $250.000 amount has been in place for the last two years, and three of the last four. In 2023, Spirit Believer grabbed the win for Nakamura Stables and while he was also competitive in the Fountain Of Youth, his form dropped suddenly and is now desired. If you finish last in this race, don’t worry. After all, the horse that finished last in the 2023 version, Hiei, turned out to be pretty good, I must say. Here’s a look at our field of twelve!
1- Glacial Till (Jive Inc., ridden by Jo Dominguez)- After a dominating victory in the $150.000 Hobbs Fall Classic, for NM-Breds at ZIA, Glacial Till is ready to take on the KYD trail. That stake was his first race after a maiden win, and it was a four length, wire to wire score. It earned him a 94 SRF, which is every bit as good as others in this field are running, and it looks like he will have most of these chasing him out of the starting gate.
2- Run Forty (Asgar, ridden by P Lopez)- This PA-bred has done most of his running in the Keystone State thus far, with his last four races being in state bred stakes. He has won the last two: the PA Nursery Stakes and the Wait For It Stakes, each of which run for a $200.000 purse. Neither were the convincing four length win that Glacial Till got, but they were likely both stronger fields.
3- Exemplary (Mb Stables, ridden by R L Moore)- Ran in the BC Juvenile Turf Sprint three months ago, thanks to winning the Grade 3 Futurity at AQU, but did not get a strong finish. About half of his races have been on the grass, and for the moment that is where he has seemed better. That could be about to change, as he comes here off of running fourth in the $300.000 Smarty Jones thanks to a late run and shows good works on the main track.
4- Razzi Moon (The Freakshow, ridden by Ar Bocachica)- Like Exemplary in that most of his races have been on the grass, but he doesn’t have the same level of success in them in terms of the strength of the race. When he attempted the Grade 3 Summer Stakes, he finished near the back. He does come here with a nice wire to wire win in an optional claimer at six furlongs which was a tactical switch for him. He’ll try to do the same running longer.
5- Soho Story (Allinthegate, ridden by M E Smith)- Ran well in overnights prior to be moving up in class to the graded level. Unfortunately, he has been yet to get a good result when running against the best, placing seventh in the Champagne and then a distant eighth in the Remsen two months ago. In each, he was way back at the start and looked to come on strong in the stretch, but that only kind of happened in the Champagne. Maybe the rest will help and perhaps a tactical adjustment is being considered.
6- Capiche (Fractious, ridden by J R Velazquez)- We know the trainer will not be discouraged if Capiche struggles here, since Hiei developed to become a great one. There’s no reason to think that will happen, in terms of Capiche not running well, because he is looking great up to this point. Won the $300.000 In Reality for FL-Breds with a wire-to-wire win before heading out west to SA for the San Vicente, where he was third. He’s had only run long before that race, and the San Vicente was also over a mile, he may have won that to. Capiche is very appealing here.
7- Freakie The Ghost (Mb Stables, ridden by J C Ferrer)- Won the first two races of his career before he was unloaded by The Freakshow in private sales for $210.000. With Mb Stables, he’s been fine, with generally steady finishes in graded stakes, with the most recent run: second in the San Vicente being the best of them. In this stable, you have to do a lot more than what he has shown thus far to get into the KYD even if you do get enough points. A win in the Holy Bull could go a long way for him.
8- Valance (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by M Franco)- Sired by Liberty Valance, who also sired Hiei, and I just don’t think Liberty Valance gets the respect he deserves with what he has shown as a sire, because it’s not “just Hiei”, either. Valance has two wins in seven starts and has hit the board in five of those races which is highlighted by the Grade 2 KY Jockey Club. He’ll need to be a lot better than he was last month in the Smarty Jones, but based on how his career has been thus far, I am okay with throwing that out. Still can’t let that happen again.
9- Raging Heights (Riggins Racing, ridden by Jam Rodriguez)- Began his career running for Tockyocky, and showed plenty of potential there but simply could not pick it up when entered into ungraded races. He’d eventually be sold to Riggins Racing for $55.000 and just two weeks later, ran in the LA Futurity as a 28/1 longshot. Started at the back, which is normal for him, and came on well to be third. I could see it going either way with him here in regard to whether or not he can handle this company.
10- Excoriator (Jerry Garcia Racing, ridden by L Saez)- I seem to get this one a lot in the previews that I write up, or maybe it just feels that way. After all, it is only the third time that he has run in a stake. Perhaps, I was just overly impressed with the way he ran last month in the San Vicente, a race that he won while beating a couple that he sees here again. It won’t matter that they’ll have more room to run as Excoriator was equally good in the stretch. Now, there’s also the race right before that: the Remsen. That was ugly, and in four races, he’s won twice and has been lethargic twice with no in between. If you trust him, go for it!
11- Motuscle (Delta Farms, ridden by P Husbands)- After running against very light competition in his first two races, Motuscle stepped up to win a PA-bred allowance in November. There was no reason for the trainer to wait to bring him forward for that, as he ran third in the Wait For It Stakes, also against PA-bred competition, where was narrowly defeated by Run Forty. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a longer public work on him to get a better feel, but he’s earned his shot here.
12- Compression (Riggins Racing, ridden by R M Hernandez)- Looking to make his papa proud, as his sire, Compress, would win the Holy Bull in 2016. Compression makes his debut here for Riggins, as the trainer purchased him last month for just $30.000 and will run him for the first time. This is another horse that has done his best running in state bred stakes, with LA-bred races being where he has been seen. No real signature wins, other than arguably the $75.000 LA Cup Juvenile at a shorter distance, and that’s likely why it didn’t take more to acquire him. We’ll see what Riggins can do with him now.
Prediction: 6-2-3-8
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
