Morning Line – Des Moines Round 2:
Round 2 should turn out quite a bit different from last night’s action. There are more than a few Round 2 matchups that favor the riders, and that wasn’t the case in Round 1.
Only six guys got out of Round 1 with a score, and the top three guys from last night all have a big question mark in Round 2. Schaper and Mauney have bulls that are unknown, and Barbosa has a bull that doesn’t fit anyone and throws most guys off. With that, this event is wide open, and anyone can win it. Mason Lowe and Robson Aragao have a slight advantage. Both of them rode last night and have very good draws today, but they will need to ride two bulls today to seal the deal.
Round 2 Matchups:
Mason Lowe on 1101 Big Tex Rocks the Chutes:
This bull used to be called Big Tex Bucks, but he earned a new name when it became apparent he was just as likely to wreck the chute as he was to buck on any given day. Once he gets into the arena, however, he is pretty rideable, and he’s given up two good scores in just four career attempts, both to right-handed riders. This puts Lowe in a good position to stay a bull ahead of nearly everyone if he can get out of the chute on this bull.
Claudio Crisostomo on 014 RMEF Big Bull:
This is really a nice draw at any bull riding. He’s got the lowest difficulty rating of any bull here. He’s a quality bull that has great timing, and gives every guy a chance to ride him. Valdiron de Oliveira was 89 points on him earlier this season, and he went to the right, which will be away from Crisostomo’s hand.
Mike Lee on 103 Strong Heart:
This is the rubber match for these two. Lee won their first meeting in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, but Strong Heart took the second in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It’s hard to say which way this one will go — this is pretty much a push — but Lee has a good chance.
Stormy Wing on 260 Damn Right:
I’ve mentioned this before, but I believe this bull is named after what riders say when they find out they’ve drawn him. He’s easily the best draw in this round, because he can produce great scores, scores that will place in the round, and aside from RMEF Big Bull, he’s the lowest bull here on the difficulty scale.
Valdiron de Oliveira on 911 Dakota Style’s Hy Test:
This is a bull that Oliveira has ridden before, and quite a few other guys have ridden him as well. He hasn’t bucked anyone off in four outs on tour this year. Hy Test can bring the heat at times and put anyone on the ground, but we haven’t seen that side of him this season.
Robson Aragao on 708 Delco:
This is another bull that we’ve seen great things out of at times, but more often than not he’s giving up good scores to many of the guys who draw him. He’s sometimes a short round bull, and he’s almost always going to be one of if not the best bull in any long round he appears in. Aragao hasn’t faced him before, but he has a good chance here. Delco is a classic high jumping type bull that gives every rider an opportunity to get by him.
Matt Triplett on 786 Arrow Truck Sales Hot Iron:
These two met in Thackerville, Oklahoma, last summer and Triplett didn’t stay on. Hot Iron is among the more difficult bulls out in this round, but he’s been ridden in his latest two outs. J.W. Harris got to him in Sioux Falls, and Gage Gay rode him at a Touring Pro Division event in Omaha — both last month. Triplett needs points to keep pace, especially given that Joao Ricardo Vieira has a big zero at this event so far.
Cooper Davis on 675 Alternator:
This is a rematch from Nashville last season where Davis was 86.25 points to win third in the round. Over Alternator’s entire career, he’s been ridden in just short of half his outs, and he’s one of the easier bulls we see on tour, although he’s not a pattern type spinner.
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