The Morning Line – Oklahoma City Round 2

By: Slade Long

Only five riders stayed on in Round 1, so this event is still up for grabs.

Last night’s round was full of bulls who had little history because they were all young bulls. Looking over the draw for Round 2, there are not many matchups that stand out as being particularly great for the rider, and there are many relatively unknown bulls. This is a little unusual for an event in Oklahoma City. Normally you would see a very strong, well-known bull pen filled with veteran bulls, similar to last week’s event in Sioux Falls. So this round will be something of a question mark – hard to predict. We probably won’t see 10 or more bulls put up 44-plus-point scores as they did in Round 1, so look for this pen to be slightly weaker overall.

Joao Ricardo Vieira on 68D Stinger:

Vieira has ridden his last six bulls in a row, two of those for more than 90 points. He’s at his best right now, and this bull is probably going to go into his hand. Stinger has only seven outs on his record, but he’s given up a couple of rides already. He threw off Cole Melancon and Rafael Henrique Santos in the last few weeks and went to the left in both of those outs.

Colten Fritzlan on C41 Funky Cold Medina:

Fritzlan rode this bull at a rodeo in Nacogdoches, Texas, in 2019 for 86.5 points. Funky Cold Medina is a Canadian bull who moved south in 2019, but we haven’t seen him at a PBR event since March of last year when he threw Mason Taylor off in Duluth, Georgia. This should be an easy win for Fritzlan and could get him into the short round.

Jose Vitor Leme on 62D Smokin’ Gun:

Leme bucked off in Round 1, proving he’s still human, but his numbers on the season thus far are better than his numbers from last season, which is saying something. He’s ridden 12 of 17 bulls this season and eight of those for more than 90 points. Smokin’ Gun is 3-4 against the top-tier riders, and he’s facing the top rider in the world. This should be a slam dunk for Leme.

Claudio Montanha Jr. on 698 Crossover:

This bull stands out in this round as a solid veteran performer and one that has been reasonably good to right-handed riders. Montanha is not having a good season at all, and he hasn’t had many great draws either, but this one is a big opportunity for him.

Joao Henrique Lucas on 629D Big Mac:

Lucas has bucked off his last five bulls in a row since the opening round in Louisville. Big Mac is one of the more rideable bulls in this round, but he’s better to left-handed riders. This is a bull that most of the top riders should win against, but he will probably go away from Lucas’s hand.

Derek Kolbaba on 362A Heartbreak Kid:

In 2019, this bull was arguably the hardest-to-ride bull in the business, but since Jess Lockwood rode him twice in October of 2019, several other guys have done the same. Dalton Kasel and Boudreaux Campbell both rode him at the World Finals for high-80s scores. Kolbaba has faced him twice before with no success, but he has a chance.

Cody Teel on D26 Landslide:

Teel rode his first-round bull and has a chance to get two in a row, which would be big in this event. This bull will probably go to the left and can have some forward movement, which makes him tough against right-handed riders. Teel’s riding style makes him pretty effective on bulls that go away from his hand, and he may be able to break Landslide’s 7-0 streak against right-handed riders.

Chase Dougherty on C5 Slinger:

Dougherty is way down in the standings right now, but he’s not really having a terrible season; he’s ridden 43% of his bulls. He hasn’t done as well at the UTB level, but he hasn’t been to many events either. This bull should be a good fit for him. Slinger is 1-2 against lefties and gave up an 89-point score to Stetson Wright at the NFR in December.

Marco Eguchi on C08 Amy’s Pet:

Amy’s Pet is a fairly predictable pattern spinner who should be a great fit for right-handed riders. He tends to go to the right out of a right-hand delivery. He’s one of the best bulls Eguchi could have drawn in this round, and Eguchi should get the job done and earn his way to the short round.

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