Smith reveals plans for Greatbullsoffire, Talk Show Man

Kathleen Willier’s multiple stakes winner Greatbullsoffire, unraced since a dominant victory in the Maryland Juvenile Futurity Dec. 10, continues to make steady progress toward his sophomore debut.

 

The bay son of Grade 1 winner Bullsbay shows four works this month at Laurel Park for trainer Hamilton Smith, most recently going seven furlongs in 1:27.60 Tuesday morning. Two weeks earlier he went five furlongs in 59.60 seconds, fastest of 25 horses.

 

“It took a lot longer to get him back than we anticipated but that’s the way it goes sometimes. He’s doing good right now,” Smith said. “He’s pretty much ready to go and as soon as something comes up for him he’s pretty much ready to get in there now.”

 

Smith is targeting the $75,000 Star de Naskra for 3-year-olds as Greatbullsoffire’s comeback race. The six-furlong sprint is one of four stakes for Maryland-bred/sired horses worth $300,000 in purses to be run on Maryland Pride Day, Aug. 19, closing Saturday of the 33-day summer meet.

 

“That looks like a good spot to get him going,” Smith said. “We’re happy with how he’s doing. We’ve got him tight enough and he should be ready to go when the race comes up.”

 

Greatbullsoffire captured his unveiling at Laurel last July 17 and won the Strike Your Colors at Delaware Park in his second start. Smith put him on grass for the 5 ½-furlong Laurel Futurity where he set the pace and took a half-length lead into the stretch before finishing third as the favorite by 1 ½ lengths.

 

Showing the heart to match his talent, Greatbullsoffire bounced back to take the Maryland Million Nursery by a head over 69-1 long shot Dancing With Maude next time out. Third to O Dionysus in the Christopher Elser Memorial at Parx, he rolled by six lengths in his season finale defeating that rival as well as Parx Derby winner Bonus Points.

 

“He was awful consistent and the one time he got beat on the grass he just got in front and got too comfortable I guess cruising along there and they got him,” Smith said. “But the last race he ran last year was probably the best race he’s run. He was moving away from horses in that race and it was a pretty impressive from that standpoint.”

 

“We’re very excited about it. We just hope everything holds together and we don’t have any more complications. If that’s the case he should have a good fall, anyway,” he added. “The only bad thing is the 3-year-old races are about to run out and he’ll have to run 3 and up, but it is what it is. The boys at the barn are excited about him and waiting for him to run. I hope he does everybody justice when he comes back because I know they’re excited about it. He should run well.”

 

 Smith said Dr. Michael J. Harrison’s homebred Talk Show Man would likely come back in the $75,000 Find for 3-year-olds and up on the grass Aug. 19 following his thrilling allowance victory July 22 at Laurel.

 

It was the first win for the 7-year-old Great Notion gelding since the Henry S. Clark in April 2015. Assorted ailments kept him unraced for 17 months from Nov. 2015 until his April 22 return, when he was 12th in the Clark.

 

Talk Show Man has progressed in each start, finishing fifth in the Longines Dixie (G2) May 20 and third in the Mister Diz June 24 prior to his most recent effort.

 

“We were very pleased. He made it exciting, that’s for sure. He ran a good race,” Smith said. “Around the turn he was kind of sluggish and once he got straightened away he got in gear and had enough to catch them.