Bond Holder to Tampa Bay Derby

Bond Holder doesn’t like to travel by plane (Benoit Photos)

Bond Holder will now point for the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby on March 8,
connections reported via social media Sunday.

The California-based sophomore was scratched from Saturday’s Grade 2 Risen
Star at Fair Grounds after experiencing a rough plane ride to New Orleans, and
additional flight woes were cited as the reason for his unexpected redirection
to Tampa.

“I didn’t like flying, landed in FL,” the colt said on his
Twitter page.

“Bond Holder was not happy flying and was routed to Florida,” according to a
post on the Doug O’Neill stable’s

Facebook page. “Luckily, we had nominated him to the Tampa Bay Derby and so
we will keep him in Florida to run there on March 8.

“Audible called, but that is horse racing!”

When a commenter suggested that Bond Holder seemed a bit “squirrely,” Team
O’Neill rose to the colt’s defense.