The Morning Line: Nashville, Day 2

Morning Line – Nashville Round 2:

Claudio Crisostomo on 521 Who Dat:

Who Dat has been a high profile bull on tour for a while, and we’ve seen him in short rounds on occasion. He’s been vulnerable against left-handed riders — giving up qualified rides more often than not. Crisostomo hasn’t done well this season, and needs to turn things around.

Guilherme Marchi on 540 King Lopez:

These two met back in 2011 and King Lopez easily won that match, but he’s a more manageable bull now than he was then. He’s been ridden every time we’ve seen him this year, and he likes to go to the right — into Marchi’s hand.

Kody Lostroh on 68 Deer Me:

We saw Joao Ricardo Vieira go 90 points on this bull in Anaheim early this season. Deer Me should spin to the left, into Lostroh’s hand, and he really hasn’t faced a lot of top-ranked left-handed riders. Lostroh has a good chance here.

Stetson Lawrence on 706 Percolator:

This is one of the best bulls to draw at this event, particularly for a left-handed rider. He’s got lots of action and good timing, and can deliver high scores. Gage Gay put up 91.5 points on him to win the Billings, Montana, 15/15 round earlier this season.

Silvano Alves on 708 Delco:

Delco has been something of a nemesis for Alves. This is a bull that Alves should ride, but they’ve met twice and he hasn’t done it. Delco is another bull that we’ve seen in short round from time-to-time, and he can deliver big scores sometimes, but he’s not as difficult to ride as most short round bulls.

Cooper Davis on 675 Alternator:

This is a good little bull that gets ridden a lot because he doesn’t cover much ground. He’s been out four times this year, and he’s been ridden four times. Bulls that do a lot of bucking in a little bit of space tend to be more manageable for riders.

Joao Ricardo Vieira on 244 Dracula:

Dracula is a fairly new bull without a lot of history, but from what we’ve seen of him he’s been exciting to watch. He’s also 1-for-2 against left-handed riders. He should fit Vieira pretty well.

Stormy Wing on 847 Western Hauler:

Wing has been on Western Hauler three times previously, and he made the whistle in their most recent meeting in Duluth, Georgia, in January of this year. This bull will work a rider to death. He doesn’t do anything spectacular, but you’ll rarely see a bull that can fit more jumps into 8 seconds time than this one can.

JW Harris on 910 Wreck It Ralph:

This bull should be somewhat similar to the bull Harris had last night, in that he’ll go out there a little ways and should turn back to the right. He’ll probably be a little less scatterbrained that Harris’s first round bull, which would make him more rideable. Harris should get the whistle here.

Douglas Duncan on 656 New Holland Power Star:

Duncan has faced this bull three times and has nothing to show for it. He hasn’t even made it to the 4-second mark on him, But, Power Star has mellowed somewhat since their last meeting and is more rideable now than he once was.

Short Round Bulls:

K55 Smackdown:

The first left handed rider in the draft should pick this bull. Smackdown has been ridden five times in eight outs this season, and he’s given up two scores to right-handed riders – something that he rarely has done in his career.

781 Asteroid:

Since JB Mauney rode him two years ago, Asteroid has gone on a run of 28 straight buckoffs, and he’s second only to Bushwacker in power rating. A bull’s difficulty isn’t completely linked to his performance. Some relatively weak bulls can be difficult to ride. Power rating measures performance, difficulty and longevity on a scale of 0-100 points. The average bull at a BFTS event grades out at 70.84 power rating. The average BFTS short go bull is 80.63. Bushwacker is 95.43, and Asteroid is 94.33. They are the two highest-rated bulls in PBR history. Whomever picks him here, Asteroid will have the upper hand.

868 After Party:

This veteran bull will probably be one of the first ones taken in the draft, because he’s been ridden about 30 percent of the time over 64 career outs. He’s not a safe pick, however. He’s got the moves to throw off anyone in the game. At times he can be pretty good to ride, and at other times he can be nearly impossible. He’s a better pick for a right-handed rider.

482 Raven Flyer:

Because he’s unridden, and because he’s been a little out of line at times, this bull is usually one of the last ones picked. But, in his last couple of outs he’s looked more manageable.

JC6 Southpaw:

This bull looks like 8 seconds worth of misery. The last time he was ridden was at the World Finals in 2012. He’s one of the most difficult bulls to ride in this round, and he probably won’t be picked until the end of the draft.

691 Superfreak:

This is another bull that hasn’t been ridden since the 2012 World Finals, although he’s nicer to ride than Southpaw. He can spin either way, and he will be pretty difficult going away from a rider’s hand.

62 Mr. Bull:

Mr. Bull will probably be one of the first bulls picked in the draft, and for good reason. He doesn’t have any tricks, and every rider knows what he’s going to do. On the other hand, he’s good enough at doing it that he rarely allows a qualified ride.

850 I’m a Gangster:

Kody Lostroh posted 91.5 points on I’m a Gangster Too to claim the highest overall score here in Nashville last year. Gangster likes to go to the right first, but interestingly, he has never been ridden by a right-handed rider. This is because his difficulty lies in how steep he is and his quickness, rather than the direction he spins. Lostroh made a flawless ride on him, and it was necessary because this bull won’t tolerate any mistakes.

1237 Walk Off:

This bull has been ridden just once in 21 trips, largely because he can be really out of line. His bucking style is similar to Buck Dynasty — loopy jumps, lots of head movement and unpredictable. He will probably be among the last bulls to go in the draft.

718 Rango:

This will be Rango’s first appearance since BFTS action resumed in August. He’s been away becoming a movie star. He has a starring role in an upcoming film based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, and he’s been busy in filming this summer. He is a hot pick in this round, and a smart rider will take him near the top of the draft. He’s allowed five qualified rides in 12 outs this season.

13/6 Bushwacker:

Hands down the most difficult high performance bull to ever play the game. Whoever picks him will have their work cut out for him. If you look back at the history of bull riding, there have been plenty of bulls who were notorious for being difficult to ride, but none of them had to run the gauntlet that Bushwacker has in his 81-out career. Under-qualified guys never get on him. He is constantly going up against the best riders and making them look under- qualified.

3 Mississippi Hippy:

For a while, this bull was considered one of the more difficult bulls around, but he’s been ridden twice this year. He’s probably not as difficult as his record makes him look. He is quite a bit larger than the average bull these guys get on — he outweighs some bulls at this event by 1,000 pounds.

81 Mick E. Mouse:

Although Mick E. Mouse is still unridden to date, JW Harris put a dent in his armor last week by taking him 7.47 seconds. Look for a right-handed rider to eventually conquer him. More importantly, Harris probably changed most of the rider’s outlook on him, which makes a big difference. They can’t see him as impossible anymore.

02 Beaver Creek Beau:

This bull is probably the biggest question mark in this round. He’s been ridden just once in 24 career outs, but watching him it’s hard to say why. He goes to the right, and he really hasn’t faced a lot of high-end right-handed riders. Matt Triplett rode him right to the whistle at the Last Cowboy Standing earlier this year.

904 Fire & Smoke:

Fire & Smoke is pure performance. He has it all. He likes to go to the left and he’ll probably be one of the first bulls picked by a left-handed rider in this round. He’s honest, has pretty good timing, and he’s given up a couple of qualified rides this season – notably a 94-point score to Kasey Hayes in Chad Berger’s Bismarck Touring Pro event this summer.

Follow Slade Long on Twitter @Probullstats

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