Gulfstream Park handicapping roundup: Week of Feb. 1

Thoughts on last weekend

There are places in society where it is best to bite your tongue and keep your opinion to yourself. The racetrack is not one of those places. There, the opinionated can step right up and state their case for the horses they like at the betting windows.

So, here are some opinions on the top races at Gulfstream from last weekend, along with some of the horses who showed promise in maiden and allowance races.

Holy Bull

Although the race seemingly was the deepest Derby prep so far this year, only one horse from the Grade 2 Holy Bull, the victorious Cairo Prince, realistically looked like he could be a major player down the road.

Cairo Prince was brilliant, stalking the pace on the outside and inhaling the leaders with a wide rally to draw away to a 5 3/4-length score. Most pleasing, he did not seem to let up upon making the lead, as he had done in some of his prior races, including when Honor Code came back to beat him by a nose in the Remsen Stakes.

Some observers were impressed with runner-up Conquest Titan and third-place Intense Holiday, but not this handicapper.

There was much talk that Conquest Titan was pinched back, but I did not see that. He was moving too slowly early to grab a good spot, and as usually happens in such a case, two horses closed the space in front of him.

I thought that along with Intense Holiday, he merely passed tired horses. For a horse breaking from post 11 in a 1 1/16-mile race, Intense Holiday had a pretty smooth trip.

Performing best of the losers was Almost Famous, who dueled early with the much-hyped Coup de Grace and held on well until the eighth pole before weakening to fourth. That was significantly better than Coup de Grace, who faded to 10th and was removed from Derby consideration by his connections after the race.

Almost Famous should move forward in his second start of the year, although he is showing signs of being a need-the-lead type.

Forward Gal

In other 3-year-old action from the weekend, Onlyforyou improved her record to 3 for 3 by winning the Forward Gal, which is certain to be one of the weakest Grade 2 races contested in 2014.

Though Onlyforyou won comfortably, scoring by 2 3/4 lengths with an 86 Beyer Speed Figure, her finish was just moderate for a filly who was able to make the lead fairly easily.

She does not need the lead to win, which bodes well for her being able to relax when she tries two turns next, perhaps in the Feb. 22 Davona Dale.

She seemed to go to the front early in the Forward Gal because jockey Javier Castellano hustled her for a few strides out of the gate. If Castellano sits chilly on her when Onlyforyou routes, she probably won’t grab hold of the bridle and will have a better chance to relax.

Other exciting performances from 3-year-old colts:

Trainer Shug McGaughey’s Top Billing stamped himself as a major player on the Derby trail with an emphatic last-to-first 2 3/4-length victory Saturday on the Holy Bull undercard.

Patiently handled by jockey Joel Rosario, Top Billing dropped about 10 lengths off the early pace before blowing past outclassed rivals in the stretch. It was an Orb-like performance, and Orb, of course, won the 2013 Derby for McGaughey and Rosario.

Next to Cairo Prince, Top Billing stood out best among the 3-year-olds routing that day.

Meanwhile, the best sprint performance Saturday was turned in by the debuting Anchor Down, who looks to have unlimited potential.

He broke slowly in a six-furlong maiden race and then appeared to resent getting hit by dirt on the backstretch and raced greenly. Midway through the race, he looked to be going nowhere, but once tipped to the outside and asked for run, he steadily advanced, took the lead, and drew clear in the lane while ducking this way and that.

More than likely, he is too far behind schedule for a race like the Derby, but this is a horse with the potential and breeding to be a player in the 3-year-old division later in the year, and going distances much longer than six furlongs.