Noholdingback Bear eyes Amsterdam Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Noholdingback Bear recorded his third consecutive victory here July 1 when he set a track record in the allowance prep for the Grade 3 Bold Venture Stakes over 6 1/2 furlongs on the Tapeta.

“There’s no holding him back,” trainer Michael De Paulo said. “He’s a monster.”

Noholdingback Bear went straight to the front under jockey Eurico Da Silva in the Bold Venture prep and never looked back, defeating a group of older horses by 3 1/2 lengths. He crossed the wire in 1:14.44, breaking the 6 1/2-furlong track record held by Consolidator Joe by 0.06 seconds. De Paulo said he wasn’t looking for Noholdingback Bear to run so hard in the prep race, but Da Silva mentioned after the race that he never asked the 3-year-old sprinter for run in the stretch.

While the $150,000 Bold Venture Stakes on July 23 could be a possibility for Noholdingback Bear, De Paulo said the Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam Stakes at Saratoga on July 30 also is under consideration.

“That’s a possibility,” he said. “We’re going to consider it. I didn’t think this prep was going to go, and I don’t really like running him back in three weeks just because he’s done so well with time in between his races.”

Noholdingback Bear has experience racing on dirt. He was second in both the Juvenile Dirt Sprint at Keeneland last October and the Grade 3 Hutcheson Stakes at Gulfstream Park in January, and De Paulo said Noholdingback Bear regularly trains on the dirt training track at Woodbine.

“He’s trained really good on the dirt, and he’s run well at Keeneland as well,” he said.