The Holy Bull Stakes (Grade 2)- $350.000 Purse
GP- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
February 2, 2019

As the month of February begins, the intensity of the KYD chase picks up. Over the next couple weeks, we will see many TC hopefuls going to post, in search of making that coveted field. The Holy Bull has seen several past winners that enjoyed being considered an early favorite, but it never really panned out for them three months later. Last year’s winner, Blindfold, ended up winning the LA Derby, too, while on the trail, but never won again, and was a dismal 18th in the Derby. He did bounce back later on in the year, though. One interesting thing about this field is that there are five runners, so nearly half, that come into this race off of breaking their maiden. Will one of them carry that momentum into the Holy Bull, or will one of the more known commodities get the win? Let’s take a look!

#1- Fight For Freedom (Estero Farms, ridden by A A Gallardo)- After attempting an ungraded to stake prior to breaking his maiden, Fight For Freedom was purchased by Estero Farms for $100.000 in late November. He broke his maiden at GP in early January, so with that out of the way, the TC trail begins. The work times show him to be a very worthy candidate as he begins his chase.

#2- Big Universe (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by D Van Dyke)- This colt has two wins in eight starts, and comes out of the Sham Stakes last month. In that race, he ran sixth, while getting passed by a few in the latter stages. With that corrected, and not needing to start from an outside post, there is good reason for optimism that he have a strong run here, though will have to have a career best start based on past speed figures.

#3- Serengeti Sands (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- Comes into this race after winning the Grade 2 KY Jockey Club at CD, and picking up a few KYD points for himself. Every little bit helps, so he will want to continue that momentum. There are others in this field that are working faster then he is, but that does not have to matter at all if he is able to step it up on race day. Interested to see how he does.

#4- Apples To Oranges (Mb Stables, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- As I personally had a lot of experience with the bloodlines on each side of this, I will be watching his progress closely now on the TC trail. He is one of the horses in the field that comes into the race after breaking his maiden. For Apples To Oranges, that came in his second career start, with a FG triumph in mid December. He’s working well at shorter distances, and I know from the blood that he will like going long.

#5- It’s A Laugher (Aer Stables, ridden by E Esquivel)- Broke his maiden just before the new year, and was congratulated for that by being sold in private sales the next day for $200.000. Aer Stables picked him up from Serenity Stables and gives him quite the test for their first race together. He’s got some good works, which are in line with everyone else, and these “Laff” bloodlines always find their way to the KYD, in some capacity.

#6- Glitter Diety (Mb Stables, ridden by R Bejarano)– Acquired as an unraced horse in late 2017, this gelding with the typo in his name has patiently been brought along by Mb Stables, which just three races so far. He was gelding right after finishing second in November, and rewarded his trainer by breaking his maiden a month later. All the numbers associated with his one look promising, especially an early January work at AQU. We’ll be seeing this typo for a while!

#7- Golden Boy (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- The Hannibal Lecter colt has made regular appearances against the best in the division thus far, and that includes being able to run in the BC Juvenile last November. It’s the only race out of six that he has not been able to finish in the money with, so he knows how to get it done. He was second in the LA Futurity in December, and won the $200.000 Funny Cide last summer.

#8- Dreamscape (Joshua Stables, ridden by F Pennington)- After breaking his maiden in his debut at the free track, Dreamscape’s career earnings are lower then most, given his ability. He started out on the grass, but shifted well to the main track in a fourth place run at the KY Jockey Club, and then ran third in the Mucho Macho Man. Both races saw him be within a length of a win, so he is proving he is competitive against top opposition.

#9- Grappler (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by Alan Garcia)- Looks to extend his winning streak to four in a row in the Holy Bull. After running third in a $50.000 maiden claimer, D J C sent him down in class, and he would break that maiden at LAD, and then would win an FL allowances. With the form now in good shape, it was off to the $100.000 Display Stakes at WO against a solid, though small, field. He won there, so now its time to try to KYD trail.

#10- Commanding Bee (Serenity Stables, ridden by J Talamo)- Serenity Stables must have had quite a New Year’s Party. Not only did he sell It’s a Laugher to Aer Stables for $200.000 on New Year’s Eve, he sold Commanding Bee to John Henry for $500.000 the same day. Is Commanding Bee two and a half times better? We shall see. He has been successful early in his career, despite only having a maiden win. A little more headbob luck and we could be calling him DMR Futurity and a Champagne winner, too.

#11- Demon (Joshua Stables, ridden by J J Castellano)- On the outside, Demon is another one in the field that is coming off a maiden win. It was a thriller too, as he came from ninth, and five lengths out of it in the stretch to pull of a narrow victory. Worked well at PRX coming into the race, and if he is looking to run the same type of tactical race, then his outside post will not be an issue.

Prediction: 7-3-6-10

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES