HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Cyclone Mischief was rated No. 12 in Daily Racing Form’s inaugural Derby Watch for the 2023 road to the Kentucky Derby. He would improve significantly on that position when list two is released next week with a big performance in Saturday’s $250,000 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull is the first of two major local preps for the $1 million Florida Derby on April 1 and the last of five graded stakes for 3-year-olds to be decided on Saturday’s 12-race program, which begins at a special post time of 11:50 a.m. Weather could play a factor, with the forecast calling for a 60 percent chance of rain around the area as of Thursday afternoon. The Grade 3 Holy Bull, a 40-point Kentucky Derby qualifier (20-8-6-4-2), drew a field of eight with Cyclone Mischief expected to receive his sternest tests from the Bill Mott-trained Rocket Can along with local hopefuls Legacy Isle and Lord Miles, the first and third horses across the wire in the one-mile Mucho Macho Man on New Year’s Day. The remainder of the field is West Coast Cowboy, Shadow Dragon, Mr Bob, and Il Miracolo. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2023: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more Trainer Dale Romans was high on Cyclone Mischief, a winner of 2 of 4 starts, before he launched his career with a third-place finish going a mile on Sept. 16 at Churchill Downs. His only two setbacks have come when involved in early speed duels, as was the case when he finished seventh, beaten less than three lengths by Instant Coffee, after a prolonged pace battle in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club in his 2-year-old finale. Instant Coffee is rated fifth on this week’s Derby Watch. Cyclone Mischief, a son of Into Mischief, bounced out of the Kentucky Jockey Club with far and away his best race yet, a 5 3/4-length allowance win going a mile here Jan. 8. He showed the ability to rate off the early leaders before finishing full of run to draw off impressively under Tyler Gaffalione, who has the return call Saturday. The performance earned Cyclone Mischief a 90 Beyer Speed Figure, easily best among the eight 3-year-olds in the Holy Bull lineup. “It’s good to be on the trail. I’m really excited about this horse,” Romans said. “His last race, obviously, was very good, and it would be perfect if he could get the same trip in this one. Sit just off the lead again. He sure is doing good coming out of his last start. He’s very sharp, the extra distance should be a plus, and I’m confident he can take the next step forward.” Like Cyclone Mischief, Rocket Can concluded his 2-year-old campaign at Churchill Downs, where he turned in a pair of sharp efforts to close the season while showing marked improvement once stretching out around two turns. He won a maiden special weight race over a sloppy track on Oct. 30 before finishing second, beaten a half-length by Confidence Game (third in the Grade 3 Lecomte in his next start), under first-level allowance conditions four weeks later while earning a career-best 82 Beyer Figure. Both those races were at 1 1/16 miles. Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said he wouldn’t trade places with anyone else in the field after watching Lord Miles finish a late-running third, just three parts of a length behind Legacy Isle, after dropping well back during the early stages of the Mucho Macho Man. Lord Miles had captured his only previous start by 5 3/4 lengths despite a bit of an eventful trip going six furlongs, and he will race with blinkers for the first time on Saturday. “He came from an impossible position at the three-eighths pole where he looked more likely to finish last than hit the board in his last start, so we’re putting the blinkers on to hopefully keep him more focused early, so he won’t be left with too much to do,” Joseph explained. “He’ll be facing a couple of new horses this time, the two from Kentucky, and he’s going to need to improve, to run a full, complete race, if he’s going to win.” Joseph also will send out West Coast Cowboy, a game debut winner before finishing fourth, 4 1/2 lengths behind Legacy Isle, under allowance conditions in his only other start. “We’re just taking a chance with West Coast to see where we stand with him at this point,” Joseph said. Legacy Isle has finished first in all three starts but was disqualified and placed second for drifting out and interfering with runner-up Dreaming of Kona in a bit of a controversial decision following the Mucho Macho Man. Trainer Rohan Crichton has made a rider change for his star’s first graded stakes test, reaching out to Luis Saez for the assignment. :: Get Gulfstream Park Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day.  Cyclone Mischief is one of two members of this week’s Derby Watch lineup who’ll compete here Saturday, along with the No. 20-ranked Tapit Trice, who will launch his 3-year-old campaign in an $86,000 allowance race to be run at a mile and which goes as the eighth event on the card. He will be joined in the starting gate by his Todd Pletcher-trained stablemate Shesterkin, with the pair likely to vie for favoritism when they take on just five rivals including two other last-out winners, Classic Car Wash and Emperor’s Appeal. Tapit Trice finished third going a mile in his debut before coming back to register a game neck decision in a well-graded maiden special weight race, also at a mile, on Dec. 17 at Aqueduct. Shesterkin launched his career locally, registering a 2 1/4-length victory going seven furlongs on Dec. 31, earning an impressive 82 Beyer. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.