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

Three years ago, coaches Kenny McPeek and Brian Hernandez Jr. collaborated in Holy Bull Staking (then G2) at Gulfstream Park and surprise January 29 when Harvey Wallbanger scored from start to finish.

If the duo registers another Holy Bull (now G3) win on February 5, it won’t come as a shock to bettors that close. Their current hope is Phoenix Thoroughbred’s Tiz the Bomb , who will be among the race lovers. The pony was a two-time bet winner and runner-up in the final bout of the Breeders’ Cup for Adults (G1T) on 5 November at Del Mar.

However, he also has something to prove. The son of Hit it a bomb ran mostly on grass rather than dirt, making him the wild card in the $250,000 Holy Bull, which raced 1/16 of a mile on the main Gulfstream Park track. Other top companies like Mo Donegal and Simplify are the bet winners, and Giant game finished third on the main Del Mar track in the TVG Breeders’ Cup Minor presented by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1).

Tiz the Bomb scored its only win in an off-court race at Ellis . Park in July – though he did with style. He won the July 2 race with 14 1/4 lengths. But with Kentucky Downs offered a $500,000 race on grass a few months later, the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Stakes, Tiz the Bomb were instead raced on grass.
After he won that race by 3/4 of the length, McPeek kept him on the field, and the minor added Castle & Key Bourbon Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland in his start against the Breeders’ Cup.

“There’s very little opportunity for 3-year-olds in North America. He’s a really talented horse and we don’t want to keep him as rigorously as a grass horse. There’s no reason to. likened it to a grass horse,” McPeek said. “Even last year we could have made the case to keep him dirty, but I chose to keep him separate from some of my other ponies. At this stage we will let him know. him the chance to play on the dirt.”

McPeek had hoped to give Tiz the Bomb an earlier bet by having him join the Kentucky Racing Club (G2) in late November at Churchill Downsbut he got scratched after a mild infection on his left front leg.

His dirt track practice this winter on the Gulfstream main track has produced many quick, eye-catching pieces.

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

Donegal Racing’s Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo ) won Remsen Stakes (G2) in his most recent start on December 4 at Aqueduct race trackdefeat Zandon by a tip in a rough stretched drive.

His trainer, Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, was a two-time Holy Bull winner, finishing first in the race with Algorithms in 2012 and later with Can be heard in 2018.

Simplify (Not this time ), January 1 Mucho Macho Man Stakes winner, is also among the fastest 3-year-olds this year, despite not having raced twice. Holy Bull was his longest race.

Giant game (Giant high riser ), drawn on the far side in lesson 9, is possibly the horse most disadvantaged by the layout and drawing of the Holy Bull race.