Holy Jackson

Weekend racing begins in earnest this Saturday and the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Saturday serves as the

[caption id="attachment_395" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Homeboykris"][/caption]

cherry on top of a very appealing line-up of high quality races.  Homeboykris surprisingly is the high-weight in the Holy Bull. The winner of the Champagne Stakes (gr.1) at Belmont back in October, Homeboykris last finished 5^th to Buddy’s Saint in the Remsen Stakes (gr.2). Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. insists his horse is ready to go. He defeated highly-touted Dublin in the Champagne Stakes before his surprisingly dull effort in the Remsen, so it is very likely that he could bounce back here with another impressive display.

[caption id="attachment_394" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Jackson Bend"][/caption]

Regardless of who the high-weight is, Jackson Bend will almost certainly be the favorite by post time. He is currently riding a five race win streak and makes a strong case to grab the Holy Bull as his 6^th. He completed a clean sweep of the Florida Stallion Stakes when overcoming a troubled start in the In Reality Stakes on October 17, posting a 2 ¾ length victory. The way he turned back Thank U Phillipe at the top of the stretch after going to his knees at the start, and drew off to win was very impressive. He won 5 of 6 starts in 2009 as a juvenile, losing his first start by a mere head. He has been training phenomenally at Palm Meadows over the winter and posted a bullet five furlong work last out of :59.30.

Todd Pletcher trainee Aikenite doesn’t win that often, but he always runs competitively against consistently top tier fields. His 5^th place finish last out in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile after a troubled trip showed he has enough determination to take whatever is thrown at him and keep running. Previous to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Aikenite finished 3^rd in the Hopeful (gr.1) and then finished 2^nd in the Futurity (gr.1) in October. He posted a bullet for his last 5 furlong work on January 17^th in a time of :59.80.

Piscitelli produced a solid effort in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile during his last race at odds of 50-1. In 2009 he finished

[caption id="attachment_396" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Piscitelli"][/caption]

5^th in the Breeders’ Futurity and 3^rd in the Arlington-Washington Futurity (gr.2) prior to his 4^th place finish in the Juvenile. His last three starts have all come on synthetics but he did break his maiden on dirt at Monmouth Park last summer.

One of the more intriguing contenders in the Holy Bull is Winslow Homer. In November he destroyed a field of winners in muddy going, seizing first place by a widening 12 ½ lengths. It was his 2^nd win in 3 starts and reeked of “Curlin-like” talent. This guy could be the wild card here if he can produce an effort like that again.

The rest of the field is comprised of Thank U Phillipe (last out he finished second to Todd Pletcher trainee Eskendereya) Litigation Risk, William’s Kitten and Wild Lime.

In my estimation Jackson Bend is the one to beat here, but Winslow Homer, Aikenite, Homeboykris and Piscitelli have been steadily garnering more support for themselves and each has a justifiable case to be made.