Prime Factor Leaps Into Graded Company in Holy Bull

When Prime Factor races Jan. 30 at Gulfstream Park in the $200,000 Holy Bull Stakes (G3), it will be his first start in a graded race—but not his first time running head-to-head with graded competition.

The son of Quality Road , who rolled by 8 3/4 lengths in his lone start in a Dec. 12 maiden race at Gulfstream, has kept some high-class competition in breezes this year at Palm Beach Downs for trainer Todd Pletcher. His Jan. 2 workmate, for example, was grade 2 winner Largent, runner-up in last week's Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T). 

Though both horses that morning were issued the same five-furlong time of 1:00.50, XBTV.com video shows Prime Factor working easier and galloping out in front.

Now Prime Factor will try to show that same promise in stakes competition at 1 1/16 miles, racing against an expected eight foes, led by Iroquois Stakes Presented by Ford (G3) winner Sittin On Go, and stakes-placed runners Papetu, Awesome Gerry, and Tarantino. Also entered are promising maiden winners Greatest Honour and Amount, the latter a Prime Factor stablemate.

After dashing six furlongs in 1:10.38 in his debut, Prime Factor is the projected favorite. A $900,000 purchase from the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, he is owned by China Horse Club and WinStar Farm, the same team that has the talented Life Is Good with trainer Bob Baffert in California.

"He was brilliant in his debut and has trained sharply since then. We kind of considered going into an allowance race but that never materialized," Pletcher said of Prime Factor. "It's always a big step to go from (a) maiden race (to now) against winners, giving up experience, but he can hopefully overcome it."

Pletcher is a two-time winner of the Holy Bull, capturing it in 2012 with Algorithms  and in 2018 with Audible . China Horse Club and WinStar Farm were part owners in Audible.

Irad Ortiz Jr. returns aboard Prime Factor after also previously riding Amount and Awesome Gerry.

Luis Saez rides Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Amount, a son of Curlin  who registered a  5 3/4-length victory over maidens Dec. 26 at Gulfstream when sprinting seven furlongs. The colt is a half brother to grade 3 winner Size and to grade 1-placed Mucho.

"His debut was very professional. Again, we were limited in options," said Pletcher. 

Along with Jirafales and Greatest Honour, the two Pletcher trainees carry low weight of 118 pounds, in receipt of six pounds from Sittin On Go, the race's only stakes winner. The four others carry 120 pounds.

Sittin On Go, owned by Albaugh Family Stables and trained by Dale Romans, followed the Sept. 5 Iroquois with a ninth in the Nov. 6 TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1) and a sixth in the Nov. 28 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2). He has been training swiftly at Gulfstream for his first start at age 3.

Corey Lanerie is back aboard the son of Brody's Cause .

The Holy Bull is a Road to the Kentucky Derby race that offers points on a 10-4-2-1 scale to its top four finishers.

Last year's Holy Bull winner, Tiz the Law , took the Curlin Florida Derby (G1), Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), and Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) and was second to Authentic  in the Kentucky Derby.

Entries: Holy Bull S. (G3)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, January 30, 2021, Race 11

• Grade III
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $200,000
• 3 yo
• 4:50 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Jirafales (FL)	John R. Velazquez	118	Gustavo Delgado	20/1
2	2Willy Boi (FL)	Junior Alvarado	120	Jeff Engler	10/1
3	3Papetu (KY)	Leonel Reyes	120	Antonio Sano	15/1
4	4Amount (KY)	Luis Saez	118	Todd A. Pletcher	6/1
5	5Tarantino (KY)	Edgard J. Zayas	120	Rodolphe Brisset	8/1
6	6Prime Factor (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	118	Todd A. Pletcher	3/1
7	7Greatest Honour (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	118	Claude R. McGaughey III	5/2
8	8Sittin On Go (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	124	Dale L. Romans	5/1
9	9Awesome Gerry (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	120	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	8/1