Five years ago, Cairo Prince’s sire, Pioneerof the Nile, ran second in the Kentucky Derby. On Saturday, the son took a big step toward avenging that loss when Cairo Prince ran away from the field to capture the Grade II Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park. Considered one of three major winter prep races for the Derby run in Florida (along with the Fountain of Youth Stakes and the Florida Derby), the Holy Bull is run over 1 1/16 miles on the dirt. With the win, Cairo Prince picked up 10 points toward earning a spot in the Derby starting gate.
Sent off as the 2-1 favorite, Cairo Prince enjoyed an almost perfect trip under jockey Luis Saez, who settled his horse in fifth early on, out of trouble three wide and within easy striking distance of the pace setting Coup de Grace and Almost Famous. Sweeping past the leaders coming out of the turn, Saez barely had to cock his whip as Cairo Prince simply pulled away from the pack with every stride, coming home unchallenged to win by an easy 5 3/4 lengths, and running a 95 Beyer in the process, the second best speed figure so far in 14 Derby prep races.
Conquest Titan, who was racing in Grade I company late last year, was last through the first half-mile and then circled the field to get up for second at 11-1, while Intense Holiday (16-1), finally hit the board in his fourth consecutive graded-stakes start by getting up for third. With the win, Cairo Prince makes up for a second-place finish to leading Kentucky Derby contender Honor Code in the Remsen Stakes last November. Cairo Prince now has a record of three wins and a second in four lifetime starts, with his last three races all at the Grade II level.
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