Like Father and Like Son? Holy Bull Still Has Doubters

His pedigree says no. Holy Bull’s family tree is not easily mistaken for equine royalty. Until he came along, the offspring of Great Above--and there are scores of them--had never won a Grade I stakes, let alone the Kentucky Derby. But Holy Bull, whether at rest or in full stride, resembles no other son of Great Above.

Typically, they are not huge, long-bodied, thickly muscled colts. Holy Bull is all those things. Typically, they are not blessed with the effortless speed with which Holy Bull now seems to intimidate his opponents, human and equine. Typically, they do not stay 9 furlongs. Holy Bull has done that twice now without finding it necessary to pass another horse. Typically, they lack the ground-swallowing stride with which Holy Bull has dominated the Florida Derby and Blue Grass Stakes in his past two starts.

Typically, 10 furlongs, the distance of the Kentucky Derby, is a quantum leap beyond the range of those who claim Great Above as a parent. There are those who believe Holy Bull will arrive at the Derby with genes that don’t fit and be exposed as a miler in the guise of a classic horse, but their ranks thinned after the Blue Grass.

Holy Bull made a legion of believers at Keeneland on Saturday. His presence and his running style are charismatic and this is a time of year in which charisma becomes a factor in the gush of hype that precedes the Kentucky Derby.

“I don’t think he has to be in front (to run his best),” jockey Mike Smith said after the Blue Grass. “He’s there because he can be.” Trainer Jimmy Croll said his pre-race strategy has not been to send this animal to the lead. “He just takes us there.”

It remains unclear exactly where Holy Bull is taking us. In the harsh light of reality, he enjoyed another unmolested lead in the Blue Grass and set a strolling pace. In the end, he had more than ample energy in reserve. In Florida, no challenge materialized. Here, there was only a tepid challenge from Valiant Nature, who was hard-used in the process of drawing within a length of Holy Bull, who finished as strongly as he did in Florida. Again, Smith rode him through the wire in the interest of conditioning. In either case, the late runners at the mercy of pace were left helpless.

“He had it all his own way. They left him alone on the lead, which I couldn’t believe,” said Craig Perret, who rode Louisiana Derby winner Kandaly, one of those at the mercy of pace. “When he comes to the Derby, he’ll have two or three other horses going with him. He won’t have it this easy in the Derby.”

So, is this a genetic freak? Has an unbridled giant been born from a family of dwarfs?

“It’s too early to call him a great horse,” said Laffit Pincay, who rode Valiant Nature and, in many eyes, was far too late in taking the race to Holy Bull. “Let’s wait until after the Derby for that. A horse usually doesn’t have it this easy in the Kentucky Derby. Next time, two or three horses will go with him. Next time, I’ll be closer to the pace.”

The Wood Memorial will send only its first two finishers to Louisville. Irgun, who was even more impressive at Aqueduct on Saturday than he was in the Gotham, is an emerging star, as physically imposing as Holy Bull, blessed with speed, perhaps greater versatility and the kind of pedigree lacking in the Derby favorite.

Go for Gin ran well enough in the Wood to earn the trip to Churchill, but left the impression he is not likely to relish 10 furlongs. Santa Anita Derby winner Brocco will be a major player, and another handful of Derby starters, including San Felipe Stakes winner Soul of the Matter, will prep in this weekend’s Arkansas Derby and Lexington Stakes.

But no matter who shows up in Louisville, Holy Bull will hold center stage. He’s the favorite. The horse to beat. The main speed.

“What he is,” said trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who will go to Louisville with Santa Anita Derby runner-up Tabasco Cat, “is a pain in the (butt) for all of us.”