Benny the Bull (horse)

Originally trained by Jeff Talley, Benny the Bull won the Iowa Sprint Handicap at Prairie Meadows in June[2] before being sold and transferred to the stable of Rick Dutrow.[3] Moved up to Grade I competition he finished second to Midnight Lute in the Forego Stakes at Saratoga Race Course and fourth behind the same horse in the Breeders' Cup Sprint. In November he recorded his most important victory when winning the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash at Laurel Park Racecourse.[4]

Benny the Bull began his five-year-old season by winning the Sunshine Millions Sprint, part of a series of races restricted to horses bred in Florida or California. In March the horse was sent to the United Arab Emirates to contest the Dubai Golden Shaheen an international sprint race run on dirt at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse. In a field which included runners from South Africa and Brazil, Benny the Bull was held up by Edgar Prado before producing a strong late challenge to catch Idiot Proof in the closing stages and win by one and three quarter lengths.[5][6]

On his return to America, Benny the Bull won the True North Handicap at Belmont Park in June, carrying top weight of 123 pounds, with Thor's Echo in fourth.[7] In the following month carried top weight of 124 pounds to victory in the Smile Sprint Handicap at Calder Race Course,[8] displaying what The Blood-Horse magazine described as a "devastating turn of foot".[9] In August, Benny the Bull sustained an ankle injury in training at Aqueduct Racetrack, which ruled him out for the rest of the season.[10]

Benny the Bull remained in training as a six-year-old, but was unable to reproduce his earlier success. He finished second under top weight in both the True North Handicap and the Smile Sprint Handicap and ran fourth in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap.