Tiz the Bomb, Mo Donegal, Giant Game Vie in Holy Bull

Three years ago, trainer Kenny McPeek and Brian Hernandez Jr. teamed up in the Holy Bull Stakes (then G2) at Gulfstream Park and pulled off a 29-1 surprise when Harvey Wallbanger  scored a last-to-first upset.

If the duo registers another Holy Bull (now G3) victory Feb. 5, it will not shock bettors near as much. Their current hopeful is Phoenix Thoroughbred's Tiz the Bomb , who will be among the race favorites. The colt is a two-time stakes winner and runner-up last out in the Nov. 5 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) at Del Mar. 

Yet he also has something to prove. The son of Hit It a Bomb   has run mostly on grass, not dirt, leaving him as a bit of a wild card in the $250,000 Holy Bull, run at 1 1/16 miles on the Gulfstream Park main track. Other leading entrants such as Mo Donegal  and Simplification  are stakes winners on dirt, and Giant Game  ran third on the Del Mar main track in the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1).

Tiz the Bomb scored his only dirt win on an off-the-turf race at Ellis Park in July—though he did so with style. He won that July 2 race by 14 1/4 lengths. But with Kentucky Downs offering a $500,000 race on turf a couple of months later, the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile Stakes, Tiz the Bomb was instead raced on grass.

After he won that race by three-quarters of a length, McPeek kept him on turf, and the juvenile added the Castle & Key Bourbon Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland in his start preceding the Breeders' Cup. 

"There are limited opportunities for 3-year-old grass horses in North America. He's a really talented horse and we don't want to lock him in as strictly a grass horse. There's no sense pigeonholing him as a grass horse," McPeek said. "Even last year we could have made a case for keeping him on dirt, but I chose to keep him separated from some of my other colts. At this stage, we're going to give him the opportunity to play on the dirt."

McPeek had hoped to give Tiz the Bomb an earlier stakes test on dirt by running him in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) in late November at Churchill Downs, but he was scratched after developing a minor infection in his left front leg.

His training on dirt this winter on the Gulfstream main track has resulted in numerous quick, eye-catching works.

Tiz the Bomb is one of three Holy Bull entrants in BloodHorse's Derby Dozen rankings of the top 12 prospects for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). Tiz the Bomb is ranked fifth, just behind Mo Donegal in fourth, and ahead of Giant Game in eighth.

Donegal Racing's Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo  ) won the Remsen Stakes (G2) in his most recent start Dec. 4 at Aqueduct Racetrack, defeating Zandon  by a nose in a rough stretch drive.

His trainer, Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, is a two-time winner of the Holy Bull, taking the race first with Algorithms  in 2012 and later with Audible   in 2018.

"We were pretty focused on the Remsen right after he broke his maiden. We locked in on that and after the race I got with (Donegal Racing CEO) Jerry Crawford, and we talked about how we could go about getting on the Derby trail. We decided that the Holy Bull was the right starting point," said Pletcher. "It gives us plenty of options. If he were to run well, we still have the Fountain of Youth (G2) to come back in if we wanted to or we could train up to the Florida Derby (G1) like we did with Audible. We kind of felt like it put us in a position to have the most options."

Tiz the Bomb and Mo Donegal carry co-high weight of 124 pounds.

"I'm really pleased with his training since he came here after the Remsen. We targeted this right away and, knock on wood, thankfully everything has gone according to schedule," Pletcher said. "He has not missed a beat since he's been here."

Simplification (Not This Time  ), winner of the Mucho Macho Man Stakes Jan. 1, is also among the fastest 3-year-olds to race this year, though has not raced two turns. The Holy Bull is his longest race.

"The longer the race, the better it is for my horse," trainer Antonio Sano said.

With a 1 1/8-mile main track configuration, the Holy Bull begins with a short run to the first turn and ends at what is typically the sixteenth pole.

Giant Game (Giant's Causeway ), drawn on the far outside in post 9, could be the horse most disadvantaged by the Holy Bull race layout and draw.

Entries: Holy Bull S. (G3)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, February 05, 2022, Race 11

• Grade III
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $250,000
• 3 yo
• 5:10 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Galt (KY)	Junior Alvarado	118	William I. Mott	15/1
2	2Mo Donegal (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	124	Todd A. Pletcher	5/2
3	3Eloquist (KY)	Frankie Pennington	118	Robert E. Reid, Jr.	20/1
4	4Simplification (FL)	Javier Castellano	122	Antonio Sano	4/1
5	5Cajun's Magic (FL)	Jesus M. Rios	122	Michael Yates	8/1
6	6Tiz the Bomb (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	124	Kenneth G. McPeek	6/1
7	7Spin Wheel (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	118	George R. Arnold, II	20/1
8	8White Abarrio (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	120	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	6/1
9	9Giant Game (KY)	Luis Saez	118	Dale L. Romans	7/2