JR Ranch, Marquee Bloodstock, High Step Racing and OGMA Investments’ Ferocious , twice grade 1-placed as a 2-year-old, continues to work forwardly at Gulfstream Park for his highly anticipated sophomore debut.

Ferocious worked four furlongs in :48.15 Jan. 16 over Gulfstream’s main track, fifth-fastest of 27 horses. Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano was up for the breeze, the Flatter colt’s second since running fifth in the Nov. 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) at Del Mar.

“The horse is doing good,” assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr. said. “He started about four (or) five weeks ago galloping and getting ready to roll again. He looks good. Everybody was happy with him.”

Purchased for $1.3 million from the 2024 Ocala Breeders’ Sales March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, Ferocious was a popular 7 3/4-length winner of his unveiling Aug. 3 at Saratoga Race Course, where he returned to finish second behind Eclipse Award finalist Chancer McPatrick  in the Hopeful Stakes (G1).

Prior to his run in the Breeders’ Cup, Ferocious was second as the favorite after being fractious at the gate and encountering some early trouble in the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland Oct. 5 to East Avenue , who was ninth in the Juvenile.

Ferocious’ season opener has yet to be decided, but the $265,000 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) Feb. 1 is a possibility. The 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull is the next step on Gulfstream’s road to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) March 29.

“We’re not really sure if we’re going to make the race on February 1. It will all depend on a breeze that is scheduled for next Thursday. If we are happy with what we see we will decide then, but we are not in a rush with him,” Delgado Jr. said.

“We are of the opinion that we need maybe two or three weeks more, but he did so good today that he might make it. It will all depend on how he breezes back,” he added. “He did pretty nice today.”

Unlike Thursday, Ferocious will have a workmate for next week’s scheduled breeze.

“Today he was going solo. We want to see him in company next week and we’ll take it from there,” Delgado Jr. said. “He’s a nice horse. You can recognize him on the track. His stride and he way he goes, few horses do that.”

The Holy Bull Stakes is also part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby and offers qualifying points on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale to the top five finishers. It is followed on the Derby trail by the March 1 Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) and Florida Derby. In 2023, Delgado Jr. and his father, Gustavo Delgado Sr., won the 2023 Kentucky Derby with Mage  .