SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Joao Ricardo Vieira has ridden six consecutive bulls and is leading the Sacramento Invitational, but the 34-year-old nonchalantly says his recent success is maybe just some “good luck.”
Vieira rode Gangster Love for 85.5 points on Saturday night at the Golden 1 Center during Round 2 of the three-day, Unleash The Beast event and is the only rider a perfect 2-for-2 through two nights of competition.
“I think I have good luck,” Vieira said. “He maybe almost went right, but he had trouble leaving the chute and go left.”
Gangster Love was a little sluggish leaving the bucking chute before slipping into a solid spin to the left and into Vieira’s riding hand.
"When you are hot, you are hot," two-time World Champion Justin McBride said on CBS Sports Network. "He doesn't panic. He takes his time and waits it out. He makes a really nice ride. Here is the thing. Not only is he making good rides on bulls like this now, he is riding them when they go to the other direction with a little bit of consistency. That is what is going to turn Joao into a real player to win a world title."
Vieira went a perfect 3-for-3 to win last weekend’s Ak-Chin Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, and heads into Championship Sunday atop the event average.
The seven-year veteran began the event with 86.75 points on Crazy Days in Round 1 on Friday night.
Vieira could win a second consecutive Unleash The Beast event Sunday and get right on the heels of world No. 1 Jess Lockwood, who began the 2019 season with back-to-back victories.
Vieira is sixth in the world standings and trails Lockwood by 1,302.5 points in the world standings.
“This would be great,” Vieira said. “Every guy dreams to win two events in a row.”
Vieira takes on Rake It Up (2-0, UTB) in Round 3. Rake It Up bucked off Ryan Dirteater in 7.8 seconds on Saturday night.
Fans can watch the conclusion of the Sacramento Invitational on CBS Sports Network at 8 p.m. ET and RidePass at 4:45 p.m. ET.
Vieira has been dealing with a bruised right thigh injury after attempting to ride No Prisoners at the WCRA Windy City Roundup in Chicago two weeks ago.
“It is still in pain during the rides, but it is OK,” Vieira said. “This is life of a cowboy.”
Vieira’s six consecutive rides is the most since a stretch of eight consecutive rides in 2015.
He is 6-for-10 after beginning the season 0-for-4.
From 2013-2016, Vieira was a Top-5 World Champion contender. Vieira finished runner-up in 2014 to World Champion Silvano Alves.
“This is the best I have rode since 2015 and 2014,” Vieira said.
Vieira then laughed and pointed at his blue Cooper Tires riding shirt.
“It must be the blue shirt,” Vieira concluded. “The last time I wore it was in 2013. Now it is back again.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko