Owner Jon Green could hardly believe what he was seeing when the quarter-mile and half-mile splits of the Feb. 3 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) flashed on the tote board.
Jockey Paco Lopez had nursed the owner's Hades through languid early fractions of :25.03 and :50.53 with 4 1/2 furlongs left to run.
"I had Jon Green telling me no that's not real, that can't be real. I wasn't confident (in Hades) because I didn't know if it was real or not," said trainer Joe Orseno after Hades pulled off a startling 9-1 upset, upending the sophomore debut for 1-5 favorite and champion 2-year-old male Fierceness in the $260,000 test for 3-year-olds.
In his first start beyond seven furlongs, Florida-bred Hades not only defeated Repole Stable's Fierceness, but completed the task with a handy two-length score. The Awesome Slew gelding, who had broken his maiden in December in a $50,000 maiden optional claimer, is officially on the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail. He accrued 20 points toward the Road to the Kentucky Derby with his Holy Bull victory.
And just like that Orseno, once a prominent trainer of the early 2000s and conditioner of such grade 1 winners as 2000 Preakness Stakes hero Red Bullet and Breeders' Cup winners Macho Uno and Perfect Sting, is back in the racing spotlight. The Philadelphia native has raced mainly in South Florida for the past decade, and has lacked a horse with the raw talent and star power of his past grade 1 winners. Perhaps Hades could be the one to return Orseno to his former glory.
"It's hard to come back, but you know we're going to go forward," Orseno said. "Is (Hades) a Red Bullet? Is he a Macho Uno? I don't know but we'll find out. So far he's done everything right."
Clocking the 1 1/16 miles in 1:46.07 after racing inside throughout, Hades returned $20.40 for a $2 win ticket.
Hades initially caught Orseno's attention at the 2023 Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. The gelding had breezed a quarter-mile in :21 1/5 but Orseno said it was the bay's gallop out that sealed the deal for him. On behalf of John Green's D.J. Stable, Orseno signed the ticket on Hades for $130,000.
Hades employed a similar powerful gallop out after the Holy Bull, signaling better things to come as the distances on the Derby trail continue to extend.
"I don't think we've gotten to the bottom of him yet," Orseno said. Although the trainer would let the gelding tell him when he was ready to run next, he was doubtful that Hades would make the March 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2), Gulfstream's next prep race toward the March 30 $1 million Florida Derby (G1).
Green indicated that the Florida Derby would likely be the next target for Hades.
Fierceness, a scintillating winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) last fall, had to settle for third after locking strides with the front-running Hades around the final turn. Although Fierceness tried despite racing wide throughout the race, Hades' swift turn of foot after the leisurely early splits was just too much for the champion to overcome.
"A champion eyeballs him and he just dug in and took off. He ran away from a very good horse," Orseno said. "We all talk about 2-year-olds at that stage. They're great 2-year-olds but sometimes they're not the same as 3-year-olds. There were a lot of obstacles they were facing too. I knew if (Fierceness) wasn't ready, today was going to be the day we were going to do it."
Chad Brown-trained Domestic Product , rolling six-wide late down the lane, edged Fierceness for second.
"He didn't get off to a very good start," Fierceness' trainer Todd Pletcher said after the race. "The inside horse bumped him pretty good and then he got sandwiched and kind of had to shove him into the race and try to get the position we wanted, which we eventually did. It seemed like he got into a good rhythm and straightened away for home and just kind of flattened out a little bit. (We're) disappointed in the outcome.
"I don't think we're going to change any plans. We'll obviously assess how the horse comes out of the race. We know he's better than that, so we've got to regroup a little bit and do better next time."
Meanwhile Hades remains unbeaten in three starts for owners D.J. Stable and Robert Cotran. Bred by Ocala Stud, Joseph M. O'Farrell III, David O'Farrell, et al., Hades is out of the Quality Road mare The Shady Lady. His half sister is 2022 Astoria Stakes victress Devious Dame (Girvin ).
Video: Holy Bull S. (G3)
An earlier version of this story had a name misspelled. The story has been updated to correct that mistake.
