Betting Holy Bull on a $20 Budget

Upstart, pictured winning the Funny Cide Stakes at Saratoga, could get a piece of the purse in Saturday's Holy Bull Stakes. (Photos by Eclipse Sportswire)
With each passing day, we draw nearer to the first Saturday in May, and this Saturday marks another opportunity for potential Kentucky Derby contenders to make a statement. Gulfstream Park plays host to the $400,000 Grade 2 Holy Bull Stakes - a race that offers 10 qualifying points to the winner on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. 
The race is also extremely intriguing from a betting perspective because there aren't any horses who appear to be total standouts. That should translate into a good opportunity to make some cash without having to invest much.
One of the most well-regarded horses in the field is the one on the rail, Frosted (1). Coming out of a 5 1/4-length victory in October, Frosted was sent off as the favorite in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes last out. Drawn wide in a 13-horse field, he chased pacesetter, and eventual winner, Leave the Light On all the way around the track. In an earlier ABR post, Pat Cummings of Trakus noted that Frosted "covered 61 feet more than Leave the Light On, a distance that suggests the Godolphin trainee went nearly seven lengths more than the winner." That's extremely significant, especially in light of the fact that Frosted only lost by a half-length, and the race was run over a track that favored speed, benefitting the early pacesetter Leave the Light On.
On the topic of speed, Bluegrass Singer (4) figures to be the main speed in the Holy Bull. He comes out of consecutive wire-to-wire (leading from start to finish) wins at Gulfstream Park, where's he won three times from four tries overall. However, he's also seen his leads diminish in the late stages of his past few races, which were run at a mile. He'll have to carry his speed slightly further on Saturday, while potentially facing pace pressure from challengers Dom the Bomb and Juan and Bina.
KEEN ICE BREAKS HIS MAIDEN

If Bluegrass Singer is pressed, that could make him vulnerable and open the race up to any number of closers (late runners) in the race. Two of the more intriguing closers are Keen Ice (2) and Frammento (7). The latter showed some really nice kick in the final stages of the race Bluegrass Singer won last out. Frammento should enjoy the added distance on Saturday and already has a win at 1 1/16 miles. As for Keen Ice, he finished third in the Remsen Stakes, despite being way out of it early over a track that we've already noted was playing against closers. He also gets a significant jockey change to Edgard Zayas in the Holy Bull.
Lastly, we've got to give some consideration to Upstart (8). He was last seen losing a photo finish for the runner up spot in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He's got clear tactical speed and has shown the ability to patiently sit off the pace, or wherever jockey Irad Ortiz wants him. If he can show just a bit more late kick coming off a near three month break, then he should be in position to factor late in the race. From a betting perspective, I have enough doubts to play against him winning at what should be short odds. That said, he's still going to be included underneath in our tickets.
$20 Wagering Strategy
$.50 Trifecta part wheel 1,4/1,2,4,7,8/1,2,4,7,8 ($12 total)
$2 Exacta 1/2,4,7,8 ($8 total)
$400,000 Holy Bull Stakes
Saturday, Race 9 at Gulfstream Park, 4:34 p.m. ET
1 1/16 miles on the dirt for 3-year-olds 

PP

Horse

Jockey

Wgt

Trainer

1

Frosted

Irad Ortiz, Jr.

116

Kiaran McLaughlin

2

Keen Ice

Edgard Zayas

116

Dale Romans

3

High Noon Rider

Joel Rosario

116

George Weaver

4

Bluegrass Singer

Javier Castellano

118

Marcus Vitali

5

Juan and Bina

Jose Lezcano

116

Gustavo Delgado

6

First Down

Rajiv Maragh

116

Tom Albertrani

7

Frammento

Luis Saez

116

Nick Zito

8

Upstart

Jose Ortiz

116

Rick Violette

9

Dom the Bomb

Rafael Hernandez

120

Larry Rivelli

10

Decision Day

John Velazquez

116

Josie Carroll