Hansen Favored in Sunday's $400,000 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park

Las Vegas, NV -- A field of six is set to go a mile in the $400,000 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Sunday. The field is led by one of the leading Kentucky Derby contenders, Hansen, who is the 6-5 morning line favorite.

The Holy Bull is one of the major Derby prep races at Gulfstream Park, along with next month's Fountain of Youth and the Florida Derby in March. Hansen will be getting the bulk of the attention on Sunday but he is not a guaranteed winner against a strong field of horses that includes Consortium and Algorithms.

Hansen 6-5
The 2-year-old champion is the 6-5 favorite in horse betting for Sunday's race for trainer Mike Maker. Hansen is unbeaten in three starts including the win over Union Rags in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He will be ridden by Ramon Dominguez, who was on board for the win in the Juvenile.

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"It looks like a very competitive field, but it's a short field and I'm pleased with the draw," said Maker. "One of his biggest assets is leaving the gate and putting himself in good position, and I'll just leave things in Ramon's hands."

Hansen is one of the contenders for the Kentucky Derby even though he has a front running style that is normally not suited to winning Triple Crown races. "It's no different than a closer." Maker said. "You're dependent on the pace. You just hope no one makes him go quicker earlier than he has to."

Algorithms 5-2
The Todd Pletcher-trained horse looked really good last June in winning at Belmont Park but didn't race again until December when he won easily in a claimer at Gulfstream. This will be the first real test for Algorithms, who is being ridden by Javier Castellano.

"He's trained very well," Pletcher said. "His first two races have been excellent, he's bred to stretch out and we're optimistic he's a top-level colt."

Consortium 3-1
Consortium won for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin back in November but then finished second to Algorithms in that claiming race at Gulfstream. He will be ridden by John Velazquez.

Silver Max 8-1
This horse will be going from the turf to the dirt after winning on the turf last time out.

Fort Loudon 10-1
This will be the first start for Fort Loudon since he finished seventh in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. This horse is the interesting off-track betting longshot in the race as he had a very wide trip in the Juvenile so it is possible he could bounce back with a nice effort on Sunday.

My Adonis 12-1
This horse will be looking to bounce back from a poor ninth place finish in the Delta Jackpot.

The Holy Bull Stakes is Race 10 on Gulstream's Sunday card with a Post Time of 4:45 PM PT.