Upstart comes out of Holy Bull victory in 'terrific' condition

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Rick Violette couldn’t have been more upbeat when asked how Upstart had bounced back from his impressive 5 1/2-length victory over Frosted and seven other overmatched rivals in Saturday’s Grade 2 Holy Bull Stakes.

“He’s doing terrific,” Violette said Monday. “He was a little quiet yesterday morning. By Sunday afternoon, he was quite bright, and this morning, he was a handful. I might even send him out for a short gallop tomorrow to let him get rid of some of that energy.”

Violette said he was extremely pleased not only with his horse’s performance but with the job jockey Jose Ortiz did putting him in excellent striking position from a difficult post in the Holy Bull.

“I thought Jose rode a terrific race,” Violette said. “He put him in a really good spot. I was also very pleased that the horse let Jose put him there. That’s exactly the kind of race I’ve been wanting to see him run all along – cruising from right behind the speed, where you don’t have to use him at the half-mile pole to get into the race and then have to make an unusually long run to win.”

Upstart received a 105 Beyer Speed Figure for the Holy Bull, three points higher than his previous best earned in the Grade 1 Champagne.

“His [Ragozin] sheet number will probably be through the moon being wide on both turns, but 105 is just a couple of points better than his 2-year-old best in October, so it seems to be well within his scope, with natural improvement from 2 to 3. By running Saturday, it gives us an extra two weeks somewhere down the road to recharge his battery or skip a work if we need to. From the looks of him this morning, I don’t think that time is now.”

Violette said the Grade 2, $400,000 Fountain of Youth at 1 1/16 miles on Feb. 21 is the logical option for his next start.

“It certainly wouldn’t be bad to keep him in Florida running on a track he’s already won over,” he said. “But if the Fountain of Youth came up a big field and we drew outside, we have the option to call an audible there, too, if need be.”