A ‘Start’ to the Season in Holy Bull

Two top 2015 Triple Crown hopefuls square off Saturday afternoon in Gulfstream Park’s GII Lambholm South Holy Bull S. Ralph Evans’s Upstart (Flatter) bested New York-breds in Saratoga’s Funny Cide S. in August to go two for two, and finished second to Daredevil (More Than Ready) when trying a mile for the first time in Belmont’s sloppy GI Champagne S. Oct. 4. He earned a field’s-best 102 Beyer Speed Figure for that effort. Probably forced to lay a little closer and wider than he would have liked due to the way Santa Anita was playing Nov. 1, the Rick Violette trainee was tagged late for second on the wire by Grade I-winning “TDN Rising Star” Carpe Diem (Giant’s Causeway) in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Sheikh Mohammed homebred Frosted (Tapit) finished a distant second to subsequent MSW Bayerd (Speightstown) first out at Saratoga in August before finishing second to entrymate First Down (Street Sense) at Belmont a month later. He broke through with a smashing 5 1/4-length score at the Big A Oct. 30, and ran a giant race to be second in that venue’s GII Remsen S. Nov. 29. Mired in the far-outside post, the Kiaran McLaughlin representative was never able to tuck in and, according to Trakus, covered 61 ft. (approx. 7 1/4 lengths) more than rail-skimming winner Leave the Light On (Horse Greeley). Late-running Keen Ice (Curlin) was eight lengths behind Frosted in third. McLaughlin won this race a year ago with Cairo Prince (Pioneerof the Nile). The aforementioned First Down, who also carries the Godolphin blue and will be saddled by Tom Albertani, adds Lasix off a fourth in the GII Nashua S. in the Aqueduct mud Nov. 2 (click here for more). Crossed Sabres Farm’s Bluegrass Singer (Bluegrass Cat), who is cross-entered in the seven-panel GIII Hutcheson S., is two for two at a mile on dirt and is expected to run here. He zipped away to a 4 3/4-length optional claiming win over Frammento (Midshipman) Dec. 17, and blitzed his competition in the Mucho Macho Man S. Jan. 3. “I brought him back into the race easy off the last race, being just three weeks between races,” trainer Marcus Vitali said. “I figured he’s run so many times and he’s the kind of horse that keeps himself fit anyway… It can be kind of a tricky situation when you’re pointing for two races. You’ve got to train them a little different for either race. I just did my best and the horse responded to everything perfect. He’s coming into the race excellent.” Three-for-four Dom the Bomb (Bring the Heat) was also cross-entered in the Hutcheson, but he too comes off a route stakes victory. The Larry Rivelli trainee took the six-panel Illinois-bred Sun Power S. by double digit lengths at Hawthorne Nov. 22, and stretched his speed an additional 2 1/2 furlongs in the Dec. 13 Jim Edgar Illinois Futurity. Donver Stable homebred Decision Day (Macho Uno) is a finalist for Canadian champion 2-year-old thanks to a win in the $250,000 Coronation Futurity S. at Woodbine Nov. 29.