Greatest Honour outruns Tarantino in Holy Bull Stakes

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Any doubt about whether Greatest Honour could handle the jump from maiden races straight to graded stakes company was quickly erased late Saturday afternoon at Gulfstream Park when the grand-looking and well-bred 3-year-old rallied to a convincing 5 3/4-length victory over 26-1 outsider Tarantino in the $200,000 Holy Bull Stakes.

It took Greatest Honour, a homebred son of Tapit, four starts to escape the maiden ranks. It took him only five more weeks to become a graded stakes winner after turning in his best performance yet in the Grade 3 Holy Bull.

With Jose Ortiz back in the saddle, Greatest Honour settled, as expected, near the rear of the nine-horse field for the opening half-mile of the 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull. Greatest Honour advanced four wide to close contention around the second turn, readily took command from outside the leaders into the stretch, quickly pulled clear, then steadily increased his advantage through the final furlong.

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Tarantino, making his main track debut after posting two wins and a second in three previous starts on turf, forced the pace from the outset, continuing on willingly down the lane to easily be second-best while no match for the winner. Prime Factor, the even-money favorite despite coming into the Holy Bull with just one previous start, a convincing six-furlong maiden win, prompted the early running from good position outside horses but was done after a mile.

Shug McGaughey trains Greatest Honour, whose family on his dam’s side includes the 2006 and 2007 Belmont Stakes winners Jazil and Rags to Riches, for his breeder Courtlandt Farms. He completed the distance over a fast track in 1:43.19 and paid $7.60.

“We had a clean trip, Jose got him over a little bit to save some ground and I thought we were in good position when he turned down the backside,” McGaughey said. “I didn’t know how good those horses of Todd’s were (Prime Factor and Amount), but when he was in that kind of position I knew they were going to have a hard time with him because he’s going to finish better than he starts.”

McGaughey has also been confident all along that Greatest Honour will get even better with more distance.

“Jose (Ortiz) said at the half-mile pole he asked him a tad and he was there,” McGaughey added. “And when he really asked him through the stretch, he finished up really strong. It was the same thing Luis (Saez) said when he broke his maiden last time. He said he thought he had plenty of horse through the stretch. And I think the farther he goes, the farther he goes.”

McGaughey said the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth here February 27 could be next for Greatest Honour.

“I’m not going to leave Florida with him unless I’m forced to,” McGaughey said. “The Fountain of Youth is what I’ve had on my mind, but I won’t have any trouble having him ready for the Florida Derby if I don’t want to run him there.”

Ortiz, who rode Greatest Honour in his first two career starts, both at seven furlongs, said “I was really, really happy going to the five-eighths pole. Luckily I didn’t have to fight for any position. When I put myself four wide in the clear, I showed him the whip one time and from that point I knew I was going to have a really good shot to win. When we got to the quarter pole, I knew I had it.”