This horse racing preview was reprinted via permission from ScoresandStats.com
Top Three
Picks for Saturday’s Holy Bull at Gulfstream
The first
Saturday in February kicks off an important month on the 2022 Kentucky Derby
Trail. The Grade 3 Withers Stakes for
three-year old Thoroughbreds highlights Saturday’s live race card at Aqueduct
in New York and Florida’s Gulfstream Park offers a trio of graded events for up
and coming three-year old Thoroughbreds.
My early pick
for this year’s Withers would be trainer Chad Brown’s Early Voting. The first
prep race at Gulfstream this Saturday is the Grade 3 Claiborne Swale Stakes
covering seven furlongs on dirt. As that field continues to come together,
trainer Todd Pletcher’s My Prankster stands out from a list of eight probable
entries
Moving on to
the Grade 3 Kitten’s Joy Stakes, this race extends out to 1 1/16 miles on the
turf track at Gulfstream. A solid play in this race would be Coinage if trainer
Mark Casse gives him the green light to run.
The main event
on Saturday’s card at Gulfstream is the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes with a total
prize purse of $250,000 along with Kentucky Derby qualifying points for the top
four finishers. This field is still taking shape as well with nine contenders
listed as probable by Horse Racing Nation. The following are my top three picks
to finish in the money in this 1 1/16 miles run on the dirt.
Saturday,
Feb. 5
Holy Bull
Stakes – Gulfstream Park
Win- Giant
Game
This
Kentucky-bred colt comes into this race with the highest HRN rating (6.60) in
the projected field. He will be making his three-year old debut after closing
out last year with a third-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del
Mar in early November.
Trainer Dale
Romans has been looking for the right spot to get his run at the Kentucky Derby
started and the son of Giant’s Causeway is in excellent position to get his
second career victory. He won a 1 1/16 miles Maiden Special Weight race at
Keeneland last October as a juvenile.
Place- Mo
Donegal
Pletcher’s top
entry in this race is another solid bet to finish in the money. The Uncle Mo
sire closed out his two-year old campaign by winning the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes
at Aqueduct on Dec. 4. He covered the extended 1 1/8 miles on dirt in 1:53.61
past Zandon and Midnight Chrome.
His finishing
strength at that length should serve him well in Saturday’s race at the shorter
distance. In three races as a two-year old, Mo Donegal finished inside the
money in each event. He comes into this race with a solid 6.45 rating by HRN.
Show- Tiz
The Bomb
This is one of
my favorite colts turning three this year. I have him in the show position for
Saturday, but the son of Hit It A Bomb is more than capable of pulling off the
win. The big question for this race is the transition to dirt after placing
second in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
Trainer Ken
McPeek has been looking forward to the Holy Bull for his three-year old debut
on dirt. The first two races of his career were on dirt tracks before moving to
turf to win the ungraded Kentucky Down Juvenile Mile in early September of last
year. Tiz The Bomb went on to win the Grade 2 Bourbon Stakes on the turf at
Keeneland on Oct. 10.
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