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HOLY BULL 12-RACE TIME CAPSULE







But HOLY BULL and the remarkable story behind his rise to stardom still touch people and voters couldn't wait to induct him into the Saratoga Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame as the 2001 Contemporary Male in his first year of eligibility. His name conjured up heavenly images but on the racetrack he was hell on wheels, the god who ran like the devil.
HOLY BULL, a gray son of GREAT ABOVE out of the AL HATTAB mare, SHARON BROWN, was bred in Florida by the Pelican Stable; he was owned and trained by JIMMY CROLL, won 13-of-16 races and earned $2,481,760 from two years on the track. He first achieved national prominence in the Fall of 1993 when he hung a half-length upset on juvenile sensation, DEHERE, in the Belmont Futurity.
Following his undefeated two-year-old campaign after four races, HOLY BULL won nine of his next twleve starts with six of them coming in Grade I stakes and three in Gr. II stakes. His only two losses came in the Fountain of Youth Stakes in which he flipped his palate and lost his air and in the Kentucky Derby when he turned in an uncharacteristically lifeless performance attributed to a bad start and not being able to handle the sloppy track surfaces at Churchill Downs.
Like a competitive boxer, HOLY BULL rebounded and delivered knock-out punches in his next starts: front running romps in the Florida Derby and Blue Grass Stakes destroying many of the same horses he had faced in the Fountain of Youth. CROLL's single best move with the colt came after his Derby debacle when the trainer wisely skipped the Preakness and Belmont and waited for the Met Mile, where HOLY BULL trounced a quality field of his elders.
At the end of the year HOLY BULL was the unanimous choice as 1994 Horse-of-the-Year and Champion Three-Year-Old Male. He had done it all: he demonstrated brilliance against older horses, easily winning the Met Mile and Woodward Stakes in blistering times. He annihilated three-year-olds in the Blue Grass Stakes, Florida Derby and Dwyer Stakes; he displayed the courage of a champion in the Travers digging in and holding off the furious late charge of eventual Breeders' Cup Classic winner, CONCERN; and he demonstrated his ability to concede weight to top-class horses in the Haskell Invitational.
CROLL brought HOLY BULL back for his four-year-old campaign in the 7-furlong Olympic Handicap and he easily defeated the classy, BIRDONAWIRE. Then came the Donn Handicap and a battle with an upstart named CIGAR - one can only speculate what would have happened had HOLY BULL not pulled up lame on the backstretch with a career-ending injury. Many believe HOLY BULL was already starting to pull away from CIGAR when the injury occurred..."I truly feel he would have beaten CIGAR...he was just getting ready to go by him", CROLL said.
A 1-hour salute to the Great HOLY BULL featuring THE FOLLOWING 12 RACES IN THEIR ENTIRETY FROM START TO FINISH:
1993 Belmont Futurity, 1994 Hutcheson Stakes, 1994 Fountain of Youth Stakes, 1994 Florida Derby, 1994 Blue Grass Stakes, 1994 Kentucky Derby, 1994 Met Mile Handicap, 1994 Haskell, 1994 Travers Stakes, 1994 Woodward Stakes, 1995 Olympic Handicap and finally the 1995 Donn Handicap.
The horses HOLY BULL defeated reads like a ,"Who's Who", in racing:
DEHERE, PATTON, YOU AND I, GO FOR GIN, DRAMATIC GOLD, VALIANT NATURE, MAHOGANY HALL, CHIMES BAND, CHEROKEE RUN, VIRGINIA RAPIDS, DEVIL HIS DUE, COLONIAL AFFAIR, TINNER'S WAY, AMERICAN CHANCE, MEADOW FLIGHT, CONCERN, KANDALY, TABASCO CAT, UNACCOUNTED FOR, COMMANCHE TRAIL, BERTRANDO, PISTOLS AND ROSES and BIRDONAWIRE.
As a testament to his greatness, during his career he defeated a Champion Older Horse, Champion Sprinter, and Champion Two-Year-Old Male...not to mention three Classic winners and two Breeders' Cup winners.
What made HOLY BULL such a fan favorite was that he ran as hard, as fast, and as far as he could race after race. He looked the best horses in America in the eye and left them for dead.
Like HOLY BULL, CIGAR and SKIP AWAY will enter the Hall of Fame the moment they are eligible. These three were the dominant American race horses of the 1990's and while the other two earned and accomplished more, HOLY BULL had the most sheer brilliance; he wasn't a grinder or survivor...he had pure speed and he could carry it up to 10 furlongs. "He is very deserving", trainer JIMMY CROLL said. "And his record speaks for itself...I am honored he is now in distinguished company." HOLY BULL joins his trainer in the Hall of Fame...racing's pantheon of greats!
FOR A DETAILED CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF ALL 12 RACES FEATURED IN THIS TIME CAPSULE, JUST REQUEST A COPY AND A COMPILATION SHEET ALONG WITH THE 1,2,3 FINISHERS WILL BE E-MAILED TO YOU.
(73 Minutes)
Listing Info: | |
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Listing ID: | 55 |
Format(s) Available: | DVD And VHS |
Category: | U.S. & Canadian Flat Racing |