LAS VEGAS - Tonight's round features the ABBI Classic bulls, these being the best 3- and 4-year-old bulls in this season's ABBI standings. Many of these bulls have less experience because of their age, but they can be very strong. There are at least a couple of bulls out tonight that would have been out in the rank pen last night were they not competing here - notably D&H Cattle's 20U Shepherd Hills Tested.
Emilio Resende on 10 Carney Man:
This bull hasn't been ridden very often, but he's probably going
to spin to the right and Resende is probably going to get another
score here. Guilherme Marchi was 88.75 points on
Carney Man in Springfield.
Ben Jones on 821 Super Cool Cat:
Look for Ben Jones to get on the board here. Super Cool Cat has
been ridden three times in eight career attempts, all three times
by right-handed riders.
Robson Palermo on 238 Skatman Hou:
This ride should start the speculation about Palermo winning his
third World Finals title. There is absolutely nothing to dislike
about Skatman Hou. He's not too big, not too small, not too
difficult, and not too easy. He is going to spin to the left, is
flashy, has great timing, scores well, and is a pretty bull with
white socks on his feet and cool-looking horns that go in different
directions. He may be the sweetest bull to have in the PBR right
now. Palermo should place in this round.
Harve Stewart on 801 Razor Blade:
L.J. Jenkins rode Razor Blade twice this year for good scores, and
this bull has been ridden in three of his last four outs, all by
right-handed riders.
Kody Lostroh on 30W Jungle Cat:
Jungle Cat is unridden in five PBR outs. He's also been to some
rodeos this season, where he was ridden once on what was apparently
an off day for him. Overall, riders are 1-for-12 on him. None of
that is very encouraging, but Jungle Cat appeared in Springfield
last month, and there's a YouTube video available of
Brendon Clark on him there. Check the
video and see if you can picture Lostroh bucking off that. I
can't. I think Lostroh gets a good score here.
Chase Outlaw on 907 Fairy Tattoo:
There's been some buzz about this bull being the next famous PBR
bull. He's not quite four years old yet, and has only four career
outs, but Chase Outlaw is one of the guys who had him. They met at
Thackerville, Okla., in August, where Outlaw took him 6.86
seconds.
Luke Snyder on 33-8 Ragin' JT:
This bull is close to being as sweet a draw as Skatman Hou. JT has
been ridden in four of his last five outs. He's never been ridden
by a right-handed rider, but he hasn't faced very many of them. JT
will go away from Snyder's hand, but has great timing and should
help Snyder move into the lead here.
Fabiano Vieira on 311 Davis/Clapp 311:
Vieira should get on the board here. This bull has been ridden in
two of his last three outs, and the guy who didn't ride him,
Douglas Duncan, did stay on 7.21 seconds.
Zane Lambert on 823 Wilson:
Wilson has seven career outs, and has been ridden five times,
giving him the lowest career buckoff percentage of any bull in this
round. Lambert has a good chance to post a second score here.
Ryan Dirteater on 2482D Vortex Madness:
This bull has been ridden three times in six career outs, all by
left-handed riders. Dirteater had him in Thackerville, Okla., and
lasted 7.13 seconds.
Marco Eguchi on 845 Jungle Juice:
Although Eguchi came down last night, his effort on Bushwacker
probably has him feeling pretty good about his riding right now. He
came very close to getting the job done on a bull that makes
everyone look like a greenhorn. This bull will be a lot easier.
Fabiano Vieira was 87.75 on Jungle Juice in Kansas City back in
March.
Chad Besplug on R351 Fair Warning:
Fair Warning has been ridden in four of six outs on the Built Ford
Tough Series. Besplug needs a score here. Every rider at this level
has to convert bulls with a record like this, or they won't stay at
this level.
Chris Shivers on U2 Prince Albert:
I think the crowd will be pretty fired up after the whistle blows
here. Shivers had a tough task last night, but a considerably
easier one in Round 2. He had this bull in Nashville and was 88.25
points on him.
Top 5 Riders:
Silvano Alves on 928 Wild Card:
This bull is pretty well unknown. Marco Eguchi had him in
Thackerville, Okla., in his only Built Ford Tough Series
appearance. Wild Card is unridden in four career outs. Alves needs
a score in the worst way. He's in a position where he could ride
the rest of his bulls here and still have a hard time staying ahead
of Oliveira.
Valdiron de Oliveira on 331 Bull Arrow:
Look for Oliveira to earn a second score here. He had this bull in
Thackerville, Okla., and rode him 7.67 seconds. Right now, Oliveira
is riding as well as he ever has, and after last night's round, is
the hottest man in the PBR for the moment.
L.J. Jenkins on 83 TID:
Guilherme Marchi rode this bull in Thackerville,
Okla., for 84.5 points. Jenkins will need a better score than that
to make any noise in this round and in the World Championship
race.
Guilherme Marchi on 850 Highjack:
This is a pretty stout bull with a lot of kick, and will probably
spin to the right. None of that will do much toward getting Marchi
on the ground. Highjack is unridden, but that may change
tonight.
J.B. Mauney on 833 Hammerhead:
This is an unridden bull we don't know a lot about. Riders are
0-for-7 on him, but he really hasn't faced a lot of top-level
riders. Mauney put himself in the hole with just a minor mistake
last night. Most bulls in leaving the bucking chute turn out, then
start bucking. Mulligan Man launched himself out of the chute like
a cannonball. It looked like Mauney wasn't expecting that and fell
victim to one of the best first jumps of the year, giving him a low
draft pick here.
Follow Slade Long on Twitter @probullstats.
Download today's day sheet here.