Burnham Square Rallies to Victory in Holy Bull Stakes
A less-than-ideal break from the gate forced jockey Edgard Zayas to change his plan of attack with Whitham Thoroughbreds' homebred Burnham Square, who nevertheless persevered to capture the $250,000 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) Feb. 1 at Gulfstream Park. The victory over 1 1/16 miles on a fast track enabled the 3-year-old gelded son of Liam's Map to join graded stakes company and earn 20 qualifying points for the May 3 Kentucky Derby (G1). "I feel like he was a little worked up before the race, and he was kind of a little nervous," Zayas said. "He kind of broke out of there a little slow. I had to go into plan B. I dropped into the rail and just let him do his thing. He doesn't get tired, has a really good stride, steady. "Once I was closing around the quarter pole, I knew I had a really good shot of winning." Sent off at 4-1, Burnham Square settled off the pace and made progress at the rail down the backstretch as Kinetic Control led through an opening quarter in :23.42 before Guns Loaded took over for splits of :47.60 and 1.11.69 through the first three-quarters of a mile. After bumping He's Not Joking near the half-mile pole and making progress two wide around the far turn, Burnham Square angled outside as WinStar Farm, CHC, and Cold Press Racing's Tappan Street moved to the lead heading into the stretch. Burnham Square ($10.60) overtook the leader and pulled away to finish 1 3/4 lengths ahead of favored Tappan Street in a winning time of 1:43.60. Tappan Street, ridden by Luis Saez, earned 10 qualifying points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. He finished 9 1/4 lengths ahead of Juddmonte's Burning Glory, with rider Tyler Gaffalione, who paid $4 and earned six points. Burnham Square made it 2-for-2 since trainer Ian Wilkes added blinkers. He won a maiden special weight race by nine lengths at Gulfstream Dec. 28 after finishing second and third, respectively, in his first two career starts. "That's night and day. Without the blinkers, he doesn't run," Wilkes said. Wilkes, who also trained Burnham Square's dam, graded stakes winner Linda, for Whitham Thoroughbreds, lauded the bay. "He overcame a lot of adversity today," the trainer said. "He didn't break as sharp. I thought he might have been really close to the lead today, but he broke a little bit tardy. Got a little hot in the post parade. There were some things he did wrong today I need to correct, but the good thing about it, he overcame the adversity, and he doesn't get tired." Whitham Thoroughbreds' Clay Whitham also was impressed by the gelding's determination. "For him to overcome what wasn't an ideal trip really gives us a lot of admiration for how this horse doesn't quit," Whitham said. "He just keeps coming back." Burnham Square's next start figures to be in the March 1 Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) or the March 29 Florida Derby (G1). "We'll make that decision in conjunction with Ian, but I think he's really tipped his hat on what he thinks," Whitham said. "I'll just say this: he really likes that Gulfstream surface. So, I don't know why you'd go anywhere else."