HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – There is no questioning the talent level Ferocious and Guns Loaded have shown to this point in their young careers, although both have questions to answer as the likely favorites Saturday at Gulfstream Park in the $265,000 Holy Bull Stakes. The Grade 3 Holy Bull is the first of two key local preps for the $1 million Florida Derby on March 29, and the most important of five 3-year-old stakes to be decided on a 12-race program that also includes the Grade 3 Forward Gal. The Holy Bull and Forward Gal offer 42 qualifying points each toward the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, respectively. Post time is noon. Ferocious was considered among the top horses of his generation last season, drawing national attention from Day One by launching his career with a sensational 7 3/4-length victory going six furlongs over a muddy track at Saratoga on Aug. 3 for which he earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure. Trained by Gustavo Delgado, who won the 2023 Kentucky Derby with Mage, Ferocious enhanced his reputation by finishing second in two Grade 1s, the Hopeful and Breeders’ Futurity, before closing out the year with a troubled fifth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. :: Get Gulfstream Park Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day. Ferocious enters the Holy Bull with the most impressive credentials of any of the seven starters but will make his 3-year-old bow off a three-month layoff and only three workouts. His last work was the most impressive, five furlongs in 1:02.01 punctuated by a strong gallop-out with blinkers on and regular rider Javier Castellano aboard. Ferocious will race in blinkers for the first time Saturday. “We have seen a positive change in his fitness in his last two works. The way he breezed in his last workout and the feedback we got from Javier, everything was very positive,” said Delgado’s son and assistant, Gustavo Jr. “We are of opinion the horse is not 100 percent [fit], but the way my dad likes to prepare these horses, they don’t need to be peaking now with races like the Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby the main goals. “We’ve added blinkers, that seems to have helped him, and the fact he’s already been a mile and one-sixteenth a couple of times should mean he doesn’t need to do as much coming back.” Guns Loaded was a popular winner of the first 3-year-old stakes of the local season, the one-mile Mucho Macho Man on Jan. 4, while making just his third lifetime start. His ability to stretch out around two turns for the first time in the Holy Bull could be a concern considering he narrowly held off the 11-1 Treaty of Rome by a neck after cruising along on an easy early lead. “He was very green in his last race, but when he felt the other horse he started running again after the finish line,” trainer Jose D’Angelo said. “I really like his workouts since his last race and he’s been galloping strong, like he can do it, go two turns.” Guns Loaded will have a new jockey, Irad Ortiz Jr., with his regular rider, Luis Saez, opting to stick with Tappan Street, who is trained by Brad Cox. Although Ferocious and Guns Loaded will be the top two wagering choices, He’s Not Joking is the only graded stakes winner in the Holy Bull, having captured the Grade 3 Grey Stakes by four lengths over the synthetic surface at Woodbine going 1 1/16 miles on Nov. 3. In his only previous start on dirt, He’s Not Joking finished a distant eighth in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs. Tappan Street is one of four last-out maiden winners in the lineup, along with Burnham Square, Kinetic Control, and Burning Glory. A $1 million yearling purchase in August 2023, Tappan Street rallied to a 1 3/4-length debut victory going seven furlongs, with Saez aboard, here on Dec. 28, earning an 84 Beyer Figure. :: Play Gulfstream Park with confidence! DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports available now. “I think he’s a horse that wants to go long. We always felt that way about him, even in the summer when he was close to making his first start, and watching his first race visually, it kind of showed us that as well,” said Cox. Burnham Square is already a proven commodity at the distance and figures to take considerable support coming off a nine-length maiden victory going 1 1/16 miles for which he earned an 86 Beyer when racing with blinkers for the first time here on Dec. 28. “I knew he was green in his first two races. He wouldn’t help the jockey at all, which is why I put the blinkers on, and he was more tractable, laid closer to the pace, and was much more professional in his last start,” trainer Ian Wilkes explained. “He’s still learning, but he’s a horse who just doesn’t get tired and I have to think he’ll move forward off his last start.” – additional reporting by David Grening :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.