Holy Bull: The forgotten prep? Or a Preakness prep?

Florida's final stakes prep for the Run for the Roses is no longer the Florida Derby. Officially, now it is the Holy Bull Stakes, a race that was originally the first Derby prep of the year run in Florida until track owner Frank Stronach repositioned the race to be a final Derby prep. But is it really a final Derby prep?

The Holy Bull is now also a race that was designed to support one of Stronach's other track's biggest races – the Preakness at Pimlico. As a matter of fact, the Holy Bull was lengthened to 1 3/16 miles, which happens to be the distance of the Preakness, and it makes the Holy Bull the longest Kentucky Derby prep run. The first running of the newly repositioned $150,000 Holy Bull (G3) Saturday has been overshadowed by traditional final Derby prep powers: the Arkansas Derby and Blue Grass Stakes. Because of that, it has drawn just a field of seven with only one contender with the roses possibly on the connections' minds.

Hey Byrn, a Florida original by top local sire Put It Back, has made all of his seven career starts to date in the Sunshine State, and he sits in the Holy Bull as a standout on paper. The good-looking bay colt has made noise at Gulfstream this winter with back-to-back allowance romps by more than 20 lengths combined. Most recently, Hey Byrn was a disappointing fourth behind probable Kentucky Derby favorite Big Brown in the Florida Derby last month. But perhaps it wasn't without a legitimate excuse, as he was bumped hard just after the start and ran on respectably to hold fourth.

Saturday, Hey Byrn will not face anything close to Big Brown. As a matter of fact, only one other horse has stakes experience in the field - and that was against Michigan-breds at Great Lakes Downs (Bipolar Express). It appears as though the distance would be the chief concern for Hey Byrn, as Put It Back is predominantly a sprint-oriented sire. But Hey Byrn gets plenty of stamina from his dam side to go along with the brilliance he gets from his sire line. He is out of a Skip Trial mare and has a strong physical resemblance to that side of his family.

Hey Byrn has already conquered nine furlongs in smashing manner and with relative ease. Combine that with the fact that he is much classier than the rest of his Holy Bull rivals, and Hey Byrn should be able to handle this crowd and the added ground.

The question is: If he wins with relative ease like what is expected of him, does he press on to the Derby with what would likely be good enough graded earnings to make the starting gate of 20? Or will his connections wait to go after them at the same distance in the Preakness – how Stronach and crew designed it to be?

The Derby is a mighty tempting proposition that is unlike any other...