A massive, four-fronted Triple Crown prep Saturday is on the horizon with Gulfstream Park’s Holy Bull leading the way. Santa Anita’s Robert B. Lewis Stakes, Oaklawn’s Southwest and Aqueduct’s Withers also will test prospects with hopes of the 2024 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
Let’s meet the contenders for the Holy Bull (Race 12):
#1-HADES: Unbeaten sprinter stretches out in distance to his first route bid and first stakes race. Should be part of the early pace under aggressive-early jockey Paco Lopez and with the rail advantage.
#2-INVEIGLED: After five one-turn starts, leading jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. will try to navigate a likely front-end trip aboard the Mucho Macho Man Stakes fourth-place finisher. Sire Enticed finished fourth in this race in 2019 and later won the Gotham.
#3-OTELLO: Mucho Macho Man Stakes winner has rallied to win both starts at one-turn mile trips. He gets tested for distance Saturday, but sire Curlin provides positive reinforcement and dam Isabella Sings was a Gulfstream turf stakes winner at this distance. Itsmyluckyday in 2013 in the only Mucho Macho Man winner to add a victory in the Holy Bull.
#4-DANCING GROOM: Blinkers go on this son of Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Vino Rosso, who makes his first start of the year. His inconsistent freshman campaign was topped by a dominant win in a Saratoga maiden race, but was defeated double-digit lengths in the Champagne and Kentucky Jockey Club.
#5-NO MORE TIME: Spent much of the Mucho Macho Man Stakes in makeup mode after a troubled start, leaving the tank empty in the stretch when finishing fifth. He was 2-1 odds that day and the price should inflate with a chance to make amends with a better beginning. Pedigree offers some questions if he’ll handle the two turns better than one. Jockey Jose Ortiz won this race in 2015 and 2021.
#6-DOMESTIC PRODUCT: Blinkers will be removed on the Remsen Stakes disappointing, who finished seventh in that race to close his rookie campaign. He’s run 9 furlongs in his last few starts, so the shorter trip Saturday will be well within his scope as he seeks to find consistency. Chad Brown’s icy Championship Meet results began to thaw out last week.
#7-FIERCENESS (pictured above): Odds-on favorite could be 1-5 or 1-9 odds in his return to action, following his 2-year-old championship and blowout win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Sire City of Light won the Pegasus World Cup over this track at Gulfstream, which helps alleviate one of the few questions of concern in his first spin over the track. Trainer Todd Pletcher won this race in 2012 and 2018, while John Velazquez seeks his first Holy Bull victory since 1997. Fierceness carries 124 pounds and gives 2-6 pounds to his competition, which shouldn’t have a major say in the outcome if he returns close to the horse last seen at Santa Anita.
#8-SEA STREAK: Settled for third after battling throughout on the front of the Mucho Macho Man Stakes. New Jersey-bred by little-known sire Sea Wizard will race around two turns for the first time while having to navigate the far outside post with a short run into the clubhouse turn.
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