Ron Correll
Senior columnist
Tracksideview.com

The 25^th running of the Grade 3 Holy Bull Sunday at Gulfstream Park in South Florida is significant for two reason; one, it kicks off the Kentucky Derby trail in the Sunshine State, and two, it’s the 2012 debut of the Eclipse and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Champion Hansen.

In my opinion, the latter is more important than the former in this case.

Hansen (4) was unbeaten in his three 2-year-old races and was desperate to hold off Union Rags by a head in the Juvenile last November at Churchill Downs. That was the first ride for jockey Ramon Dominguez and he returns in the Holy Bull. The Tapit colt has been working well at Gulfstream Park since his return to training at the end of December. The one-mile distance of the Holy Bull should not be a problem for Hansen and he should pick up where he left off in 2011.

There will be five facing Hansen and we’ll start from the rail out for race 10 on the card with a 4:45 p.m. EST post time.

Silver Max (1) broke his maiden in his sixth try and it was on turf Jan. 13 at Gulfstream Park. He was second in his other five races. This son of Badge of Silver was on dirt in his first race on July 31 at Saratoga. The 86 Beyer speed figure he received in his last race says he can run with Hansen, but can he beat him?

Consortium (2) has not been farther than six-and-a-half furlongs in both his starts. He won his first and was second in his most recent race, which was won by Algorithms who also is in the Holy Bull. Consortium is by Bernardini and picks up Lasix for the first time, which may be an indication he bled in his last race. This guy has a bright future.

My Adonis (3) has two wins and three second in six lifetime starts. He won the Jean Lafitte on Oct. 22 at Delta Downs and then was ninth in the Delta Jackpot on Nov. 19. That finished up his 2-year-old campaign. He has ripped off three bullet works in a row at Palm Meadows. It looks like trainer Kelly Breen is trying to put some speed in the son of Pleasantly Perfect.

Fort Louden (5) also comes out of the Juvenile on Breeders’ Cup day where he was seventh after a wide trip. Prior to that, he won four in a row, including the Florida Stallion Stakes at Calder Race Course. He’s owned by Jacks or Better Farm and trained by Stanley Gold. He picks up Rajiv Maragh for the first time.

Algorithms (6) upset Consortium when he was the odds-on favorite in that allowance/optional-claiming race on Dec. 16 at Gulfstream. He’s another son of Bernardini, and has the connections of Todd Pletcher, Starlight Racing and Javier Castellano. There is nothing but tons of upside for this developing star.

There is no secret how this race will set up. Hansen will go to the lead and try to still be there when he hits the finish line. Silver Max will try to keep him company and with the speed that was put into My Adonis, he will be in the mix.

Consortium and Algorithms should be right behind those three, waiting to make a move. I’m going to take the position that Hansen will be a little rusty as most Breeders’ Cup champions are in their first start of the new year. If I’m wrong he’ll still be undefeated and be right at the top of most Derby lists. I’m going to go with Algorithms, Consortium, Hansen and Fort Louden. Ron’s picks: 6-2-4-5