McGaughey to test Greatest Honour in Holy Bull Stakes

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Shug McGaughey will be looking to go down the Kentucky Derby trail with Greatest Honour when he saddles the Tapit colt Saturday for the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes, the first of three major Gulfstream Park preps toward the May 1 Derby.

“I do think he has a chance to be a nice horse,” McGaughey said. “I think he’ll run as far as they want to run.”

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Greatest Honour was one of at least eight 3-year-olds expected to be entered here Wednesday for the 30th running of the $200,000 Holy Bull, a 1 1/16-mile race for which the uncoupled Todd Pletcher pair of Mutasaabeq and Prime Factor figure among the favorites. Other confirmed starters include Awesome Gerry, Jirafales, Papetu, Sittin On Go, and Tarantino.

Bred and owned by the Courtlandt Farms of Donald Adam, Greatest Honour took four starts to get through his maiden condition, doing so here Dec. 26 when going 1 1/16 miles. McGaughey believes more ground could be a key to success for the late-running bay colt.

“He wants to go farther,” he said. “If the pace sets up for him in this race, he’ll finish good. I think he’s that kind. We’ll run him in this and see where it takes us.”

The Holy Bull, a 10-4-2-1 points qualifier for the Derby, is the highlight of another big Saturday card at Gulfstream. It’s a stepping-stone toward the Feb. 27 Fountain of Youth and March 27 Florida Derby.

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In all, five Grade 3 stakes, all for 3-year-olds, will be on a 12-race Saturday card. The others, all with $100,000 purses, are the Forward Gal for fillies and the Swale, both at seven furlongs, and the Kitten’s Joy and the Sweetest Chant for fillies, both at a mile on turf. The Forward Gal is a 10-4-2-1 qualifier for the April 30 Kentucky Oaks.

Meanwhile, McGaughey said Code of Honor has been turned out in Ocala, Fla., after the 5-year-old horse was fifth as the 4-1 second choice Saturday in the Pegasus World Cup. Code of Honor is a five-time graded winner of more than $2.7 million.

“I’m stopping on him for a little while,” he said. “I’ll probably get him back sometime early this summer, and hope he’s back to himself for some of the bigger fall races.”

McGaughey won the Grade 3 Hooper on Saturday with odds-on Performer, who returned to training Wednesday. McGaughey reiterated that he’ll look at the Feb. 27 Gulfstream Mile while also considering slightly longer races for the Phipps Stable homebred.