Chiseled Continues Pursuit of YETI World Championship; Toves Conquers Smooth Operator During Rank Weekend in Fort Worth
PUEBLO, Colo. – The PBR Can-Am Invitational at the Cowtown Coliseum was expected to be a showcase in pure bull power, and the PBR’s top bovine athletes did not disappoint this weekend.
2019 ABBI Classic champion Chiseled continued to make his case that he could be the bull to beat in the 2021 YETI World Championship race, capping off the event Saturday night with a 47-point bull score against Rafael Henrique dos Santos.
It appeared at first that Santos might have made a career-defining ride aboard Chiseled to earn his first career event victory, but it was eventually ruled that he had slapped the D&H Cattle Company superstar at 2.52 seconds.
Santos may have stopped the clock early, but Chiseled never slowed down one bit and increasingly got stronger with each turn he took.
Chiseled has come out of the gate this season firing on all cylinders after finishing runner-up to two-time YETI World Champion Bull Smooth Operator last season. Chiseled debuted two weeks ago in Del Rio, Texas, with a 46.5-point bull score, and he now sits atop the YETI World Champion Bull standings with a 46.75-point average on two outs.
Meanwhile, it was magic between 2020 World Champion Jose Vitor Leme and 2020 ABBI Classic champion Woopaa once again. This time it was 20 miles away from AT&T Stadium, where Leme clinched the world title last season during Round 4 of the PBR World Finals with a 95.75-point ride on Woopaa.
Saturday night’s ride was maybe not as perfect as their first showdown three months ago, but it once again brought Leme to the winner’s circle. The 24-year-old rode Woopaa for 94.75 points and the eventual event victory once Santos bucked off.
Leme was returning to competition this weekend from a broken right ankle at the season-opener on Jan. 16 and is right back to where preseason predictions had him – fighting for another world title.
Woopaa earned a 46.25-point bull score, and he, too, has asserted himself as a World Champion Bull contender. Woopaa was previously marked 45.5 points in Del Rio for taking care of 2020 NFR bull riding winner Colten Fritzlan in 3.14 seconds.
Leme’s ride highlighted a championship round that featured three 90-point rides. Taylor Toves rode Smooth Operator for a career-high 92.75 points, and Lucas Divino picked up 90.5 points on Hocus Pocus.
Toves was in a position to win his first career premier series event before Leme’s heroics, but the ride still propelled him to a second-place finish and the world No. 8 ranking.
“It just feels good,” Toves told Kate Harrison of CBS Sports Network. “I’ve been struggling here lately, getting some rode every now and then, but not making it count where I need to in the short round. I’ve been on that bull. I think that’s the third time I’ve been on him. Finally got him rode. It feels good.
“That bull, his shoulders really want to push your feet back. So the first couple of times I got on him, I was too far forward. He got my feet, so I just tried to stay back.”
Fans can watch the conclusion of the Can-Am Invitational Sunday night on CBS Sports Network at 8 p.m. ET.
Smooth Operator is now sitting third in the YETI World Champion Bull standings (45.67) after scoring 45.5 points. He has now been ridden for 92.75 or more points in three consecutive outs.
The bulls kept the riders in check this weekend in Fort Worth. There were a total of 22 rides over the two-day event of 83 outs. Round 2 in particular was tough on the cowboys, with only five qualified rides.
The Unleash The Beast series next heads to Glendale, Arizona, on March. 12-14. The first day of competition will be the conclusion of the Del Rio event that was postponed because of inclement weather. The PBR Built Ford Tough Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, gets underway on Saturday, March 13.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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