Holy Bull pensioned

Hall of Famer and successful sire Holy Bull has been pensioned from stud duty

at the age of 21, Darley announced on Sunday. The 1994 Horse of the Year, who

has put the precarious Plaudit sire line on a firmer footing, will live out his

days at Sheikh Mohammed's Jonabell Farm near Lexington, Kentucky.

Holy Bull began his stallion career in 1996 at the Bell family's Jonabell

Farm, which was later purchased by Sheikh Mohammed. Darley America President

Jimmy Bell reflected on Holy Bull's versatility.

"He was so good, he was not a specialist," Bell said. "Short. Grass. Long.

Dirt. Pick your best five horses. He could run with any of them.

"He really was a working man's horse, if you will. Blue collar. People always

had a place for a Holy Bull."

Bred by Rachel Carpenter's Pelican Stable, Holy Bull broke his maiden

impressively at Monmouth on August 14, 1993, the very day that his owner/breeder

died. A short time later, trainer Jimmy Croll learned that the colt was

bequeathed to him, along with Carpenter's other horses, and Holy Bull would race

in Croll's colors for the remainder of his career.

Four-for-four as a juvenile, Holy Bull captured the Grade 1 Futurity,

defeating eventual champion two-year-old colt Dehere. Holy Bull next stretched

out to two turns for the In Reality division of the Florida Stallion Stakes and

romped by 7 1/2 lengths.

The following season, Holy Bull won eight of 10 starts during a campaign that

earned him Horse of the Year and champion three-year-old colt honors.

After winning his fifth straight in the Grade 2 Hutcheson in his 1994 debut,

Holy Bull suffered a shock loss in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, where he

displaced his palate and faded to last of six. Croll made an equipment change,

and the gray promptly bounced back with daylight wins in the Grade 1 Florida

Derby and Grade 2 Blue Grass. The streak was expected to continue in the

Kentucky Derby, but a lackluster Holy Bull trudged home 12th.

From that point on, the real Holy Bull would be on display. He crushed older

horses in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap by 5 1/2 lengths, ran away with the

Grade 2 Dwyer by 6 3/4 lengths, annexed the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational, held

on determinedly in the Grade 1 Travers, and again demolished his elders in a

tour de force performance in the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes.

Holy Bull's championship credentials were clinched when the respective second

and third from the Travers, Concern and Tabasco Cat, ran one-two in the

Breeders' Cup Classic in his absence.

Holy Bull made it six in a row when driving to victory in the Olympic

Handicap in his four-year-old bow, but his career came to a sudden end in the

Grade 1 Donn Handicap. Regular rider Mike Smith pulled him up early with

injuries to his left front leg. As it turned out, the Horse of the Year baton

was being passed to the Donn winner -- Cigar.

Retired to stud with a record of 16-13-0-0, $2,481,760, Holy Bull had great

success as a stallion. His average earnings per starter remains at $62,000,

while his career statistics show a 70 percent lifetime winners to starters

ratio.

The son of Great Above figures to exert an enduring influence in pedigrees.

Holy Bull's leading progeny include Macho Uno, the 2000 Breeders Cup

Juvenile-winning champion; Grade 1 hero Flashy Bull; and Giacomo, who in 2005

gave his sire a measure of Kentucky Derby revenge by springing a 50-1 upset.

Macho Uno is already doing his part to further the male line, having sired

such major winners as Macho Again, Wicked Style, Harlem Rocker and his current

headliner, Mucho Macho Man, who just conquered Saturday's Grade 2 Suburban

Handicap.

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