The Derby and Oaks Trails fly south for the weekend, as the first of Gulfstream’s official prep races are run this Saturday.  Kentucky Derby points are at stake in the Holy Bull Stakes (GII); the fillies vie for Oaks points in the Forward Gal (GII).  Three other stakes races, all restricted to three-year-olds, appear on the card as well.  Sprinting colts take the spotlight in the Hutcheson (GIII), grass fillies run the Sweetest Chant (GIII), and the turf males have a counterpart in the Kitten’s Joy to round out the card.  All in all, Gulfstream’s Saturday card promises a competitive day of racing.

Picks and Ponderings is there with selections and analysis for all five of those races.  I looked at the three colts’ races: the Holy Bull, the Hutcheson, and the Kitten’s Joy.  Paul Mazur analysed the fillies’ races: the Forward Gal and the Sweetest Chant.

For those who follow a couple of particular spots of interest, the card holds a few points of interest.  For fans of the Curlin babies, the Holy Bull features one of his most promising three-year-old sons: Keen Ice, who starts for the first time since his late-running third in the Remsen (GII).  For followers of Illinois-bred runners, two-time Hawthorne stakes winner Dom the Bomb tries open stakes company for the first time this weekend.  He is currently cross-entered in the Holy Bull and the Hutcheson, though the Hutcheson looks more likely at this point.