Speedy gelding Bluegrass Singer has been cross-entered in both the $400,000 Holy Bull Stakes and $150,000 Hutcheson Stakes Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
The Holy Bull and Hutcheson are important prep races for 3-year-olds leading to the Florida Derby on March 28.
Bluegrass Singer, owned by Cross Sabres Farm and trained by Marcus Vitali, has drawn post 4 for the 10-horse, 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull and the far outside post for the eight-horse, seven-furlong Hutcheson. Top jockey Javier Castellano has the Holy Bull mount while Rafael Hernandez is listed for the Hutcheson.
Bluegrass Singer, with Castellano riding, led most of the way in winning the Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream on Jan. 3.
"It was very impressive," the jockey noted. "He went really fast in the beginning, but the way he did it in the last part and kept going and kept digging all the way to the end, I'm very impressed."
Bluegrass Singer has won three of seven starts for $119,835.
"We're bringing him up slow to the two turns," Vitali said. "We're trying to prepare him properly, if he is what we think. If not, we're having a lot of fun right now. He's a good horse; he's doing everything right. Time will tell. Everything's a possibility."
Here is the field for the Holy Bull in post position order: Frosted, Irad Ortiz Jr.; Keen Ice, Edgard Zayas; High Noon Rider, Joel Rosario; Bluegrass Singer, Javier Castellano; Juan and Bina, Jose Lezcano; First Down, Rajiv Maragh; Frammento, Luis Saez; Upstart, Jose Ortiz; Dom the Bomb, Rafael Hernandez and Decision Day, John Velazquez.
From the rail out here is the Hutcheson field: Stanford, John Velazquez; Bridget's Big Luvy, Jose Ortiz; Dom the Bomb, Javier Castellano; Richard the Great, Joel Rosario; Big Family, Edgar Prado; X Y Jet, Edgard Zayas, Barbados, Luis Saez and Bluegrass Singer, Rafael Hernandez.
The Holy Bull has an approximate post time of 4:34 p.m. and the Hutcheson 3:30 p.m. ET.
[SportsNetwork.com]
