Gulfstream Park: Coup de Grace earns consideration for Holy Bull

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – It might be a little early to call Coup de Grace a Kentucky Derby candidate, but the son of Tapit has certainly given every indication he could wind up on that list after opening his career with two victories. His latest score came by one length over the more experienced Hy Kodiak Warrior when stretching to a mile for the first time in Sunday’s seventh race.

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Coup de Grace prompted the early pace under jockey Javier Castellano, moved readily to command, then withstood a serious challenge from Hy Kodiak Warrior, who had raced a mile when disqualified from an apparent victory in his previous start. Owned by Fox Hill Farm and trained by Chad Brown, Coup de Grace had captured his debut in similarly game fashion going six furlongs at Aqueduct.

Speaking of Coup de Grace’s effort on Sunday, Brown said: “He rated nicely, up close to the pace, and did what he had to do. He won, and Javier told me when the other horse came to him at the wire he thought he galloped out pretty well.

“I was comfortable that a one-turn mile was within his scope. Now we’ll take little steps from here, try a mile and a sixteenth race and test him around two turns. I think he earned a spot in a stakes race somewhere.

Brown said the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Holy Bull on Jan. 25 is a strong possibility for Coup de Grace’s 3-year-old debut.

“He’s here, he’s run over the track, and he loves training down here,” said Brown. “But first and foremost we’ll have to see how he’s doing coming out of this race. He’s still learning the game – that’s one of the reasons why this horse didn’t run at Saratoga. He had all the talent in the world but was having some behavioral issues in the morning. So we decided not to put him through all the pressure at Saratoga.”