Bull's Eye!

re: Bull's Eye!

dr fager01 — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 06:01:46 GMT

Its easily said just two words'Holy Bull' i saw him, I was on the Dehere bandwagon, but i said to myself that gray horse has swagger beyond compare, and 1 was right. Lets give the great Jimmy Croll credit, he was old school and wanted his horse to race at four, and he wanted him to be seen at Gulfstream, his home track early in the year. I just dis agree with folks making comparisons to Cigar, Cigar did a lot on the track to win 16 races in a row. But had the gray bull been around Cigar would have been another also ran in the annals of this great sport. I saw Bull live he was as good as Spectacular Bid and the great Native Dancer, what Holy Bull accomplished in 16 races the way he ran he was just an untouchable beast. I saw John Henry i saw Sunday Silence, Alysheba but the Bull was simply one of the greatest Thoroughbreds of alltime.

re: Bull's Eye!

drfager01 — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 06:08:41 GMT

A GREAT STORY THAT WE LOVE. THE BEST STORY BY A NON LOSER WINNER, BULL COULD HAVE WON THE TRIPPLE CROWN IF HE WAS LUCKY.

re: Bull's Eye!

fanofallthree — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:54:47 GMT

You're a national treasure, Steve.

re: Bull's Eye!

Will W — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:48:14 GMT

A truly great racehorse who has not gotten his due from the current generation of racing fans until Steve Haskins resurrected his memory and relived his greatness for the Bloodhorse readership in his latest column. I remember him well as I saw most of these races Steve mentioned and recall the meeting with Cigar that led to his career-ending injury. But for that injury it might not have been so difficult for Steve to recapture his greatness for contemporary race fans and enlighten them as to what a spectacular career Holy Bull had on the racetrack. Looking forward to Steve's upcoming, off-beat stories on Cigar. And, yeah, having watched Holy Bull bomb so uncharacteristically in the KY Derby, someone probably did get to him before the race and juiced him.

re: Bull's Eye!

Runfast159 — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 05:05:34 GMT

Holy Bull easily is one of the greatest thoroughbreds to have run since Bid retired, and many would say he ranks up there with all the best. His Woodward was simply scintillating, blazing down the stretch under a hand ride, one of the great performances of the past 20 years. Thanks for remembering him here. I cannot wait for Cigar stories because he is one of my personal favorites!

re: Bull's Eye!

Becky — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 04:36:08 GMT

Holy Bull is my all-time favorite and was the first horse that captured my imagination. I followed him obsessively throughout his career and have been an avid racing fan ever since. Holy Bull was the beginning of a passion that has lasted and most recently led to me buying an OTTB that I am retraining for dressage and jumping. Thanks, Steve, for rekindling the memories!

re: Bull's Eye!

Qatmom — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 03:40:46 GMT

Go back and look at Holy Bull's wins on NYRA tracks. He did what he did at Saratoga and Belmont before medication rules were changed, making those wins even more remarkable.

re: Bull's Eye!

Jimmy Bell — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 22:43:41 GMT

Steve,

Thank you again for reliving one of the best racing stories in modern times. I am sitting here reading your story and looking at Holy Bull's shoes hanging on my wall. I thought just watching his races gave me goose bumps,but reading about them does the same.

I was fortunate enough to be on hand for his 3 and 4 year old campaign and can remember nearly every second of every event you just described.

We were very excited, honored, and proud to have Holy Bull retire to Jonabell.

Our deal was struck on a hand shake with Jimmy Croll(his word) that The Bull would retire to Jonabell.

All I can tell you is that Jimmy Croll and Holy Bull were both pure class.It was a privelige to be associated with both.

Thanks again for the memories. One of the greatest rides I've ever experienced.

re: Bull's Eye!

mdfanofracing — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:13:58 GMT

Thanks for the great story...It seems you keep coming up with stories about horses who won big races I was at. First Bid's Preakness, then yrs later when I was living in south Florida, I was at Holy Bulls Florida derby and won a TON on the trifacta that day. I was also there on Donn day, which had a not so happy ending.I was there with a friend of mine who was a stone cold Cigar fan (I never was) and I was just devistated, as well as humiliated by my friend the Cigar fan, when Holy Bull was injured. Thankfully he has gone on to have a great career at stud. I guess I got the ultimate revenge on the Cigar fan when he ended up being infertile. I always have high hopes for the Bull's offspring when I see them on the track.....Ok, Steve, now it's your job to find another horse who won a race I was at for next week LOL !

re: Bull's Eye!

Steve Haskin — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:02:32 GMT

Thanks, everyone. I really appreciate all the comments. I have a few personal stories about Cigar that I will use as my next blog, maybe tomorrow or early Thursday. They are totally different types of stories -- more offbeat -- than the ones I've been writing. I hope you like them.

re: Bull's Eye!

EasyGoerFan — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:19:33 GMT

Great story! This year when there was all the talk of Big Brown being one of the greatest ever, I looked at his speed figures and his competition and then thought of what Holy Bull accomplished as a 3yo. There is no comparison. I was a huge fan of Holy Bull.

I watched him every day at Keeneland in April and October of 1994. He was blistered in October, which did not make me happy, but that was Croll's way.

I went to his retirement party and have visited him many times. He's still a ham for the fans.

Mike Smith said he's the greatest horse he's ever ridden and with all due respect to Zenyatta, she still has a bit to do to take the top spot if you ask me.

re: Bull's Eye!

partymanners — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:26:51 GMT

I was there for his 94 Woodward victory... The atmosphere afterwards as he came back to the winners circle, was like nothing ive experienced, the crowd adored him..

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TerriV — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:52:12 GMT

Steve, Your stories always just bring me to tears. Holy Bull has always been one of "those" horses for me. I have followed every "Bull" I have seen out there. Every one of them seems to make a splash somehow. I can't wait to watch those videos on UTube. Thanks for bringing back all those old memories and emotions. And I'm excited to watch for Bullheaded next year, I'll add him to my list: Old Fashioned, Nicanor, Stardom Bound and now, Bullheaded.

re: Bull's Eye!

Virginia fan — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:41:33 GMT

Another great story ... Thanks, Steve, you are truly a gifted writer!

This is what bris shows as his wins:

14-Aug-93, Monmouth Park, mdn sp wgt, $9,600, 5.5 f, 1:03.80.

2-Sep-93, Belmont Park, alwc, $16,800, 6.5 f, 1:17.00.

18-Sep-93, Belmont Park, gr 1 stk, $69,360, 7 f, 1:23.20.

23-Oct-93, Calder Race Course, stk hcp, $240,000, 8.5 f, 1:46.20.

30-Jan-94, Gulfstream Park, gr 2 stk, $45,000, 7 f, 1:21.20.

12-Mar-94, Gulfstream Park, gr 1 stk, $300,000, 9 f, 1:47.40.

16-Apr-94, Keeneland, gr 2 stk, $310,000, 9 f, 1:50.00.

30-May-94, Belmont Park, gr 1 stk, $300,000, 8 f, 1:33.80.

3-Jul-94, Belmont Park, gr 2 stk, $90,000, 8.5 f, 1:41.00.

31-Jul-94, Monmouth Park, gr 1 stk, $300,000, 9 f, 1:48.20.

20-Aug-94, Saratoga, gr 1 stk, $450,000, 10 f, 2:02.00.

17-Sep-94, Belmont Park, gr 1 stk, $300,000, 9 f, 1:46.80.

22-Jan-95, Gulfstream Park, stk hcp, $51,000, 7 f, 1:22.00.

re: Bull's Eye!

Sara — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:03:20 GMT

Thank you,Steve, from one of many who hold the memories of "Bull" and his trainer, Mr. Croll, in their hearts. Gentlemen, both, all too scarce these latter days.

re: Bull's Eye!

In Awe — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:54:41 GMT

In addition to being in awe of "the bull" and loving the recent Cannonnero tales, my mouth flew open when the line came up re: did someone get to him before the race.....could that be the reason for Big Brown's poor performance?????

re: Bull's Eye!

Jeremy — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 06:46:34 GMT

Another great article Steve. Holy Bull was indeed one of the greats. I was a big Holy Bull fan back then and like everyone else was sadden when he lost the derby was in injured in the Donn. Racing was denied a great rivalry between Holy Bull and Cigar. Alot of people knock Cigar just for the simple fact that Cigar won the race. There are alot of doubters on YOUTUBE, I have debated on there numerous of times defending Cigar's name. I think the bashers were die-hard Holy Bull fans, and they take their anger on Cigar. Hey people do that sometimes. For years I hated Bayakoa just for the fact she won the Breeders Cup Distaff at Go for Wand expense. Took a while till I got over it. But Cigar was basically beating the same competition Holy Bull was beating. I dont think Holy Bull would have won the Donn just for the simple fact that Cigar was carrying lighter weight for basically being unknown. You cant give a good horse an edge in weights and we all know what Cigar wind up doing. I think had Holy Bull stayed healthy their possible rivalry would have been up there with Affirmed/Alydar, Sunday Silence/Easy Goer to name a few. Its just a shame he never got to run in a Breeders Cup event. He was one of my favorites and definately in my top 10 although alot of people such as myself doesnt think he is a true 1 1/4 horse. That edge I would give to Cigar but up to a mile I think the Bull has the edge although we would never know, all we can do is speculate. But the 90's was a great decade for racing just like the 80's. Besides Cigar and Holy Bull we had horses such as Go for Wand, Lite Light, Criminal Type, Ruhlman, Farma Way, Black Tie Affair, Housebuster, Unbridled, Summer Squall, In Excess, and Best Pal to name a few. Oh what could have been had Cigar and Holy Bull had a whole season to go against each other to see who was best. We dont see that anymore. Greed is killing the sport.

re: Bull's Eye!

The Deacon — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:51:53 GMT

Brilliant horse whose tragic end was so reminiscent of Ruffian. I still believe he beats Cigar. Holy Bull could have been one of the all time best.

Great article Steve............

re: Bull's Eye!

Eric Rickard — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 21:48:56 GMT

keep the history articles comming. I had forgotten how the Bull's racing life ended. I have followed racing since just before Flying pacer. Being a west coast transplant i favor them. The BUll was great, but Will someone give Point Given his due. He was the best not to have one the derby. Even his jockey the great Gary Stevens dose not no why. But that is another story. Holy bull was great but if someone had gotten to him or was it that he just did not like Churchill. That happens sometimes.

re: Bull's Eye!

tbpartnerperson43 — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 21:48:11 GMT

Just have to figure out how to print out this whole blog. Steve's story and the blogs are meant to be kept in an archive. Adding Bullheaded to my Virtual Stable as soon as I send this.

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kevin m — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:25:51 GMT

I hope Jess Jackson is reading....

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Richie — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:06:36 GMT

Another great memory inducement my friend. I remember watching the Derby on TV that year-even in the post parade I remember someone saying that "The Bull looks a bit sleepy today" which was just how he ran. I guess we'll never know, will we?

As for the Donn, once again we were gathered to watch Holy Bull show this young upstart who was boss. Of course the injury ruined that scenario but to this day I think the big hoss would have beaten Cigar that day. I really do. Anyhow Thanks for another great horse from the past. I have never visited him at the farm but he has been added to the list for 2009. Certainly one of the best to ever hit the track. Also a Merry Xmas to you and your family, Steve!!

re: Bull's Eye!

THE ROCK — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:38:40 GMT

I got into this game in 91' at the age of 8. My step-father taught me to read the racing form and his numerous methods of handicapping, which took about 3 months for me to grasp. I'll always remember the crop of 91'. What an amazing crop! Dehere, Holy Bull, Tabasco Cat, Blumin Affair, Brocco, Valiant Nature, Strodes Creek, Go for Gin, Concern... Dehere I fell in love with when he won the Saratoga Special. Boxed in on the rail the whole way and finally getting out just before the 1/16th and hearing Tom Durkin scream "Here comes Dehere, he's moving like a rocket"! What a summer @ Saratoga for Dehere. Sweeping all three Graded Two year old stakes there. I get chills from watching those races. Then came this big gray horse named Holy Bull, in which I believe they first locked horns in the Futurity and he just man handled Dehere. I was really looking forward to those two meeting again in the Florida Derby the following year after Dehere defeated HB in the FOY, until Dehere got injured and was forced to retire that spring. I always pulled for Dehere against Holy Bull, because even though he was the champion 2 year old of 93', Holy Bull was just in a whole other league with the talent he had. That Woodward & Met Mile win hold a special place in my heart. We just don't see 3 year olds dominate deep, talented, tested older runners as Holy Bull did in 94'. Other than the Breeders Cup nowadays, we just don't see great horses from both coasts get together for 3 weeks at a time in the most prestigeous races in the country anymore. I mean then, it was a big deal to run in the Woodward, JCGC, Whitney, Hollywood Gold Cup, Big Cap, etc. No matter who was in there, you wanted to run against the best. Now everyone hides out until Breeders Cup or Derby day. And here's an honorable mention for Tabasco Cat. I loved his El Camino Real derby win with Pat Day aboard over Flying Sensation, as I was there live that day. When you're home base is Bay Meadows and you see big time riders come around for your signature race, it was a big deal for us locals. It seemed like Lukas ran him in everything that year. I'm still disappointed that he ran him in the Hollywood Derby just a couple of weeks after the BC Classic. I think that was the cause of his retirement as he was injured after the race. But man what a warrior he was. He always showed up rain or shine. East Coast or West Coast.

re: Bull's Eye!

Lady Ruffian — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:13:13 GMT

Wow. I loved this story, and honestly I had never seen a race with Holy Bull (in only 21) but i youtubed the '94 Travers and that gave me chills! Too bad im no where near KY, i'd love to see The Bull in person. Keep the stories comming!

re: Bull's Eye!

Star of the North — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:56:21 GMT

In light of Mr. Croll's passing this past summer, this story was way overdue.

I had the good fortune to be at Keeneland for his win in the Blue Grass and was at the track when he went out for a gallop three days later. His exercise rider was a 60+ guy named Bobby Perna and the Bull threw a memorable tantrum when he was guided back through the gap off the track, angry that he wasn't allowed to do more.

Heads rarely swivel at the Keeneland gap the way they did that day for the Bull.

Smith doffing his cap as he returned to thunderous applause from the Travers day crowd is burned in memory.

Thanks for this one Steve.