Shadwell Stable's undefeated Mohaymen (Tapit) and St Elias Stable, MeB Racing Stables and Brooklyn Boyz Stables' GISW Greenpointcrusader (Bernardini) headline a short, but competitive field in Saturday's GII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream. A debut winner sprinting at Belmont Sept. 19, Mohaymen made light work of Aqueduct's one-mile GII Nashua S. Nov. 4. The Kiaran McLaughlin trainee handled his two turn test with aplomb when stretching out to nine furlongs for the Big A's GII Remsen S. last time Nov. 28 and enters off a five-panel bullet in :59 2/5 at Palm Meadows Jan. 21.
“He's pretty seasoned for only starting three times,” McLaughlin said. “The work behind horses was very important in between the Nashua and the Remsen, for jockey and horse I think. Junior was real confident with him on Remsen day because he had sat behind two horses and taken dirt in the morning. We know he can handle most things thrown at him at this stage. We just hope we have a good trip and a clean trip.”
Greenpointcrusader graduated at second asking at Saratoga Sept. 5 and followed suit with an impressive success in a sloppy renewal of Belmont's GI Champagne S. Oct. 3. The Dominick Schettino pupil was last seen making a belated bid to be seventh in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Keeneand Oct. 31.
Second behind GISW Brody's Cause (Giant's Causeway) in his Churchill unveiling Sept. 11, Conquest Stables' Conquest Big E (Tapit) earned his diploma in the slop at Keeneland next out Oct. 2 and finished 4 3/4 length behind Greenpointcrusader when eighth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Trained by Mark Casse, the gray was last seen outlasting “TDN Rising Star” Unexplained (Ghostzapper) to win comfortably in a sloppy Churchill optional claimer Nov. 28.
“He's been training as good as a horse can train. My feeling's always been that he trains like a really good horse and I think he's run well but so far I think in his career he's been an underachiever,” Casse said. “I do see things in him that make me think that he is a really good horse, but he's still got to prove it. This is going to be a big test this weekend. We'd rather find out now.”
Originally expected to be sending out impressive allowance winner and “TDN Rising Star” Cherry Wine (Paddy O'Prado), Dale Romans will instead saddle Calumet Farm's Perfect Saint (Pleasantly Perfect). Earning his diploma at third asking at Churchill Nov. 1, the chestnut finished seventh to Airoforce (Colonel John) in a messy renewal of the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. Nov. 28 and was eighth to his aforementioned stablemate in a track-and-trip optional claimer here Jan. 9.
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