Holy Bull (USA)
January 24, 1991 – June 7, 2017
Great Above (USA) x Sharon Brown (USA), by Al Hattab (USA)
Family 16-g
January 24, 1991 – June 7, 2017
Great Above (USA) x Sharon Brown (USA), by Al Hattab (USA)
Family 16-g
A smooth-running flyer who could stalk from off the pace or kill off his opposition from the front end, Holy Bull was the complete racehorse. After an inexplicable flop in the Kentucky Derby (USA-G1), he took an unconventional path to championship honors, defeating dual Classic winner Tabasco Cat in the Travers Stakes (USA-G1) and the best of the older males in the Metropolitan Handicap (USA-G1) and Woodward Stakes (USA-G1). He seemed poised to continue his dominance at 4 but injured a tendon in the Donn Handicap (USA-G1)---his second start of the year—and was retired. To this day, racing enthusiasts debate how the Donn would have turned out if Holy Bull had stayed sound, for the horse that won was the great Cigar. As a sire, Holy Bull was inconsistent but succeeded in continuing the male line of 1898 Kentucky Derby winner Plaudit, passing the torch to his champion son Macho Uno.
Race record
16 starts, 13 wins, 0 seconds, 0 thirds, US$2,481,760
1993:
1994:
Honors
Assessments
Holy Bull was rated #64 among the top 100 American racehorses of the 20th century by a panel of experts assembled by The Blood-Horse (Thoroughbred Champions, Eclipse Press, 7th printing, 2005).
Rated at 125 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juvenile males of 1993, 1 pound below co-highweights Dehere (the official champion) and Breeders' Cup Juvenile (USA-G1) winner Brocco.
Highweighted at 130 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3-year-old males of 1994, 6 pounds above second-rated Concern and the highest weight assigned in the division since Sunday Silence in 1989.
As an individual
Holy Bull stood 16.1 hands. A strong, well-balanced horse with a good shoulder and strong quarters, he had a long stride and excellent natural speed. He became heavy-bodied as a stallion. Those who knew him well during his racing days described him as a “ham” who loved human attention and would readily pose for the camera, but he was aggressive both on the track and in the breeding shed and was inclined to bite.
As a stallion
According to records kept by The Jockey Club, Holy Bull sired 703 winners (58.6%) and 48 stakes winners (4.0%) from 1199 named foals. Holy Bull tended to throw a rather large, coarse individual with a stubborn, ungenerous temperament.
Notable progeny
Confessional (USA), Giacomo (USA), Macho Uno (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Caravaggio (USA), Connect (USA), Judy the Beauty (USA)
Connections
Holy Bull was bred and owned by Rachel Carpenter's Pelican Stable. On her death in 1993, Mrs. Carpenter bequeathed Holy Bull to her longtime trainer, Warren A. “Jimmy” Croll. Following Holy Bull's injury and retirement, he entered stud in Kentucky at Darley's Jonabell Farm division. He was pensioned in 2012 and was euthanized due to the infirmities of old age on June 7, 2017.
Pedigree notes
Holy Bull is inbred 5x5 to Questionnaire. He is a half brother to stakes winner Winnie D. (by Crafty Prospector) and to Brandy Rose (by Distinctive Pro), dam of 2005 Alabama Stakes (USA-G1) winner Sweet Symphony (by A.P. Indy) and restricted stakes winners Patriotic Flame (by Concerto) and Infinite Glory (by Hennessy). His second dam Agathea's Dawn (by Grey Dawn II) is a half sister to stakes winner My First Trip (by Nail).
Books and media
The New York Racing Association's video of Holy Bull's win in the 1994 Woodward Stakes (USA-G1) can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-tCGbynWtg.
Fun facts
Photo credit
Portrait photo taken by Jessica Morgan at Darley at Jonabell in 2010. Used by permission.
Last updated: August 5, 2023
Race record
16 starts, 13 wins, 0 seconds, 0 thirds, US$2,481,760
1993:
- Won In Reality Stakes (USA-R, 8.5FD, Calder)
- Won Futurity Stakes (USA-G1, 7FD, Belmont)
1994:
- Won Travers Stakes (USA-G1, 10FD, Saratoga)
- Won Florida Derby (USA-G1, 9FD, Gulfstream Park)
- Won Metropolitan Handicap (USA-G1, 8FD, Belmont)
- Won Haskell Invitational Handicap (USA-G1, 9FD, Monmouth)
- Won Woodward Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD, Belmont)
- Won Dwyer Stakes (USA-G2, 8.5FD, Belmont)
- Won Blue Grass Stakes (USA-G2, 9FD, Keeneland)
- Won Hutcheson Stakes (USA-G2, 7FD, Gulfstream Park)
Honors
- National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 2001)
- Monmouth Park Hall of Champions
- Eclipse Award, American Horse of the Year (1994)
- Eclipse Award, American champion 3-year-old male (1994)
Assessments
Holy Bull was rated #64 among the top 100 American racehorses of the 20th century by a panel of experts assembled by The Blood-Horse (Thoroughbred Champions, Eclipse Press, 7th printing, 2005).
Rated at 125 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juvenile males of 1993, 1 pound below co-highweights Dehere (the official champion) and Breeders' Cup Juvenile (USA-G1) winner Brocco.
Highweighted at 130 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3-year-old males of 1994, 6 pounds above second-rated Concern and the highest weight assigned in the division since Sunday Silence in 1989.
As an individual
Holy Bull stood 16.1 hands. A strong, well-balanced horse with a good shoulder and strong quarters, he had a long stride and excellent natural speed. He became heavy-bodied as a stallion. Those who knew him well during his racing days described him as a “ham” who loved human attention and would readily pose for the camera, but he was aggressive both on the track and in the breeding shed and was inclined to bite.
As a stallion
According to records kept by The Jockey Club, Holy Bull sired 703 winners (58.6%) and 48 stakes winners (4.0%) from 1199 named foals. Holy Bull tended to throw a rather large, coarse individual with a stubborn, ungenerous temperament.
Notable progeny
Confessional (USA), Giacomo (USA), Macho Uno (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Caravaggio (USA), Connect (USA), Judy the Beauty (USA)
Connections
Holy Bull was bred and owned by Rachel Carpenter's Pelican Stable. On her death in 1993, Mrs. Carpenter bequeathed Holy Bull to her longtime trainer, Warren A. “Jimmy” Croll. Following Holy Bull's injury and retirement, he entered stud in Kentucky at Darley's Jonabell Farm division. He was pensioned in 2012 and was euthanized due to the infirmities of old age on June 7, 2017.
Pedigree notes
Holy Bull is inbred 5x5 to Questionnaire. He is a half brother to stakes winner Winnie D. (by Crafty Prospector) and to Brandy Rose (by Distinctive Pro), dam of 2005 Alabama Stakes (USA-G1) winner Sweet Symphony (by A.P. Indy) and restricted stakes winners Patriotic Flame (by Concerto) and Infinite Glory (by Hennessy). His second dam Agathea's Dawn (by Grey Dawn II) is a half sister to stakes winner My First Trip (by Nail).
Books and media
The New York Racing Association's video of Holy Bull's win in the 1994 Woodward Stakes (USA-G1) can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-tCGbynWtg.
Fun facts
- The Holy Bull Stakes is contested at Gulfstream Park, replacing the Preview Stakes in 1996, it is currently a Grade 3 race for 3-year-olds.
- Holy Bull was the subject of a T-shirt designed by the Daily Racing Form's famed caricaturist Peb, showing a raging bull with a halo over its head.
- Holy Bull's average Beyer speed figure during his 3-year-old season was 115.
- Jimmy Croll considered the 1994 Travers Stakes to be Holy Bull's greatest race. Locked in an early speed duel, Holy Bull ran the first six furlongs in 1:10-2/5—the fastest six-furlong split for the Travers by a winning horse since Man o' War's 1:10 in 1920—and still managed to stave off eventual Breeders' Cup Classic (USA-G1) winner Concern by a neck at the finish.
- Croll went to his grave believing that Holy Bull had been "gotten to" with a doping drug by unnamed conspirators prior to the Kentucky Derby. As no blood sample was taken from the colt after the race, his contention was never proven, but many observers noted that the colt seemed uncharacteristically lethargic at the post and during the race.
Photo credit
Portrait photo taken by Jessica Morgan at Darley at Jonabell in 2010. Used by permission.
Last updated: August 5, 2023