Holy Bull

Mike Smith, jockey for Holy Bull, said that the Florida Derby winner came off the track at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., yesterday "bucking and kicking" and is ready to take on California invader Valiant Nature Saturday in the $500,000 Blue Grass Stakes.Keeneland publicist Jim Williams said he expects a six- or seven-horse field. In addition to Holy Bull and Valiant Nature, the prospective lineup includes Louisiana Derby winner, Kandaly; Chimes Band, third in the Jim Beam Stakes; Bonus Money and Mahogany Hall.

ARCADIA, Calif. -- The countdown to the Kentucky Derby took an unexpected twist yesterday, when Brocco ended up on the Vet's List for sore horses at Santa Anita Park.The action was taken by California state veterinarian William Bell, but quickly disregarded by the horse's jockey and trainer. Bell said the horse came back "slightly off" in his right foreleg after his victory on Saturday in the Santa Anita Derby.Bell said he noticed the apparent soreness when the horse was cooling out in the test barn.

ARCADIA, Calif. -- Trainer Ron McAnally threw a shocker into the Santa Anita Derby proceedings yesterday when he failed to enter probable second choice Valiant Nature and announced he would run the horse instead a week from Saturday in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.The Santa Anita field still includes nine horses, headed by 7-5 favorite Brocco, who drew the three-post. Tabasco Cat is now picked second by track oddsmaker Jeff Tufts at 5-2, followed by Soul Of The Matter at 3-1."

ARCADIA, Calif. -- The slower Valiant Nature works, the better Ron McAnally likes it.The Hall of Fame trainer might be readying his horse for Saturday's Santa Anita Derby, but he has his sights set on Kentucky.McAnally has had his eye on recent East-Coast derby preps and is figuring out how to avoid a speed duel with horses like Holy Bull, winner of the Florida Derby, and Polar Expedition, the Jim Beam victor, on the first Saturday in May."Holy Bull is impressive. As he and the Jim Beam winner showed, speed is always dangerous," he said.

HALLANDALE, Fla. -- Bill Mott broke a record for trainers at Gulfstream Park yesterday when he saddled his 32nd winner of the meeting, Dahlia's Dreamer.But the horse he really wanted to see win was Lahint, who ran 10th in the Florida Derby two days ago just when people were touting him as a major candidate on the road to the Kentucky Derby."He had his shot," Mott said, making no excuses for Lahint. "It was the first time he faced horses who could really run. Maybe he got a little discouraged."

HALLANDALE, Fla. -- With the way he performed on the racetrack Saturday in the Florida Derby, it looks as if Holy Bull is so good, so fast, so superior to every other 3-year-old (at least in the East) that they'll never catch him in the Kentucky Derby on May 7.When it comes to the Kentucky Derby, there's a lot to like about Holy Bull, a horse who may be in a class by himself. Problem is, there's a lot to dislike. With his breeding and his running style, he doesn't fit the profile of the typical Kentucky Derby winner.

HALLANDALE, Fla. -- A year ago, Bull Inthe Heather won the Florida Derby, then ran eighth in the Kentucky Derby. He hasn't won since that victory at Gulfstream Park.Holy Bull -- no relation to Bull Inthe Heather -- looks more like the genuine article. His 5 3/4 -length victory yesterday in the $500,000 Florida Derby was one of the most convincing in the 43-year history of the stake, making owner-trainer Jimmy Croll's colt the new early favorite for the Kentucky Derby.Before yesterday's race, the 74-year-old trainer said that Holy Bull wouldn't be a Kentucky Derby candidate until he showed that he belonged in a 1 1/4 -mile race.