‘Boss’ Leads Competitive Bishop

Jerry Durant’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ Holy Boss (Street Boss) seeks a fifth-straight victory as he looks to see out the seven-panel trip of Saturday’s GI King’s Bishop S.

The Steve Asmussen pupil returned to winning ways in an Oaklawn optional claimer in March, and added that venue’s Bachelor S. a month later. He defeated three other next-out winners in Pimlico’s Chick Lang S. May 16, and was a clear-cut winner of the

GII Amsterdam S.–the traditional prep for this–Aug. 1. March (Blame), winner of the GIII Bay Shore S. and GII Woody Stephens S., was last of five that day.

“I’m very pleased with how he’s done since the Amsterdam,” said Asmussen. “I expect a huge race on Saturday. Last year, first time out, it looked like he could be any kind of horse, but he got a little bit off track. This spring, he’s won four in a row in some impressive sprint races. I thought his last race was his best yet, and the way he ran in the Amsterdam at 6 1/2 [furlongs], this seems very doable.”

Fellow ‘Rising Star’ Competitive Edge (Super Saver)’s abbreviated juvenile campaign included a romp in the track-and-trip GI Hopeful S. just over a year ago, and he picked up right where he left off with open-length scores in Gulfstream’s Tamarac S. Mar. 27 and Churchill’s GIII Pat Day Mile May 2. A puzzling no-show last at odds-on in the June 6 Woody Stephens S. downstate, he set an above-average pace in Monmouth’s GI Haskell Invitational S. Aug. 2 before settling for fourth behind GI Travers S. entrants American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile), Keen Ice (Curlin) and Upstart (Flatter).

Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas owns a record five King’s Bishop trophies, but hasn’t won it since 1996. Purchased privately by Calumet Farm before a fifth behind formerly fellow Zayat Stables colorbearer American Pharoah in the GI Preakness S. May 16, Mr. Z (Malibu Moon) earned just his second career victory by a nose in the June 20 Ohio Derby. He was a somewhat erratic second in the GII Indiana Derby over a sloppy track July 18, and hasn’t sprinted since runner-up outings in both the GIII Sanford S. and GII Saratoga Special S. here last season.

Florida-based Grand Bili (City Zip) was 10th behind Holy Boss in the Chick Lang the last time he left The Sunshine State, but checked in second in Gulfstream’s June 7 Big Cypress H. before taking the July 5 GIII Carry Back S. at this trip.

Several lightly raced runners add further intrigue, and nobody is as lightly raced as Sheikh Mohammed homebred Watershed (Bernardini). They bay comes off a powerful debut score here just 22 days earlier (video) for which he also became a ‘Rising Star.’ Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin did take the GIII Sam F. Davis S. this January with Ocean Knight (Curlin) fresh off a debut score.