TicketSmarter Morning Line – Billings Round 2 & 15/15 Bucking Battle

By: Slade Long

Fifteen guys made the whistle last night, but with three long rounds here, this event is still wide open. Things will tighten up somewhat tonight, because Round 2 is loaded with good matchups, and at least a few guys will be 2-for-2 after tonight.

Round 2

Colten Jesse on E5 Big Black Cat:

Jesse bucked off in the first round, and he bucked off this bull earlier this season, but this still a great matchup for him. Big Black Cat is a veteran bull who doesn’t give up a lot of rides, but when he does, they are usually good ones. When they do ride him it is often for round wins. He’s a solid bull who rewards hustle and try.

Cody Nance on 23B Fearless:

Nance rode this bull about a year ago for 87.75 points. Fearless was strong contender for World Champion Bull last season, but he gave up a lot of rides down the stretch, and Nance was one of those. This is a good draw for a left-handed rider, and good for Nance. He didn’t get a score in Round 1, but could get a big one here.

Kaique Pacheco on 501 Come On Over:

This bull migrated here from Canada at the end of last season. He’s 19-3 in his career, but the last three guys to try him made it past 7.5 seconds. From what we’ve seen of this bull, Pacheco has a chance to pick up a second score here.

Jess Lockwood on 643 Cold Chill:

This is a relatively unknown bull who is 5-0 in a short career, but he may get ridden here. Lockwood looked sharp last night on a bull that gave him every opportunity to look rusty. If Lockwood has picked up right where he left off, you cannot count on any bull to get the best of him.

Joao Ricardo Vieira on A19 Bezerk:

Vieira rode this bull in the short go in New York early this season. He’s likely to do it again here. This is a solid, high performance bull who has been pretty generous to the top-tier riders, especially left-handed ones.

Mason Taylor on W403 Freckles Brown:

This is a great draw for Taylor. Freckles Brown put several riders on the highlight reel last year. We haven’t seen much of him this year because of the pandemic and scheduling, but he’s a big time bucker who can deliver 90-plus-point rides at times, and he likes to go to the right.

Jose Vitor Leme on 100 Nailed:

Every bull has some degree of difficulty that may or may not be directly related to his scoring potential. Riders make most of their money on high scoring/low difficulty bulls, and Nailed is one of the most extreme examples of this. If you remember Stanley FatMax from a couple of years ago, he’s an example of the other extreme – very high difficulty relative to his scores. Nailed has historically been better for right-handed riders, but Leme is 2-for-3 against him.

Cooper Davis on 138 M.A.G.A.:

Davis was 89.5 points on this bull at last year’s World Finals. M.A.G.A. is a lot like Nailed in that riders tend to score well on him, but he’s ridden more often than not by the top-tier riders. Davis should be a lock to get on the board with a second score here after turning in a solid ride against a harder bull last night.

Keyshawn Whitehorse on -400 Oz:

Interesting matchup here. Whitehorse is riding well at the moment, and won the first round. He has a rideable bull here, but one that is sure to go away from his hand. Oz is originally from Canada, and he’s 13-0 against right-handed riders. Whitehorse is very good on bulls that go away from his hand, and he’s never ridden better than he’s riding right now, and that makes this matchup one to watch.

15/15 Bucking Battle

This could be more of a shootout than normal. Guys struggle to get scores in some of these 15/15 rounds, but there are a lot of good matchups here.

Mason Taylor on 34 Soup in a Group:

Taylor bucked off this bull in their only previous meeting in January of 2019, but even so, Taylor should be the favorite here. Soup in a Group has become somewhat more rideable than he was 19 months ago, and he’s given up qualified rides in eight of his last nine outs, two of those for more than 90 points. Taylor may not win the round, but if there are a lot of buckoffs in this round he could.

Cody Teel on 43C- Chiseled:

This should be the marquee matchup in the round. Chiseled is the frontrunner for World Champion Bull right now, but like SweetPro’s Bruiser, he is honest and rideable while capable of delivering scores in the 94-96-point range. He also likes to go to the right – into Teel’s hand. While Chiseled fits perfectly in a category with Bruiser, there’s an important difference. Chiseled relies more on speed and spin, and this makes him a better fit for smaller riders. Teel is a bigger guy, but he may be the best ever at compensating for the disadvantage of being taller. This will be a good matchup, and could easily be the round win.

Ramon de Lima on 679 I’m Busted:

I’m Busted only has seven outs on record, and he’s unridden. No one has even ridden him very far. This matchup is a big question mark, but Lima needs qualified rides to make up for lost time this season.

Eduardo Aparecido on 500 I’m Legit Too:

Aparecido is at a disadvantage here, being right-handed. This is a very fast bull with very little margin for error, and he goes to the left consistently. Aparecido is really good going away from his hand but he will have to be perfect on this one, and that is hard to do.

Ezekiel Mitchell on 561C Hocus Pocus:

Hocus Pocus is a lot like I’m Legit Too. He has the speed and the spin, and he gets a little more vertical. Ho goes to the right, which is good for Mitchell, but a bull with this much speed does not forgive mistakes, and Mitchell will have to be precise.

Cooper Davis on 44A Smooth Over:

This is a great bull with a classic style. Davis bucked off of him in their only meeting in 2018. Smooth Over is rideable, but he only gives up two or three rides per season. Davis is certainly capable of getting a great score here on a bull that will probably go away from his hand, but it won’t be easy.

Cole Melancon on 169 Sky Harbor:

Melancon had this bull in February and bucked off, but this is another bull few guys would complain about having. He’s strong, but he typically doesn’t cover a lot of ground, and he gives riders an honest shot at a score. He’ll probably go away from Melancon’s hand, but he’s a good bull to have regardless.

Lucas Divino on 511T Stretch:

Divino is 2-for-2 on this bull. Stretch is a good fit for any right-handed rider, and he’s been especially good for Divino over the past year or so.

Colten Jesse on 2L Young Man’s Blues:

This bull only has 10 outs on record, but he’s bucked Jesse off twice this season. Jesse took him past the six-second mark in their first meeting, and that’s as far as anyone has gone on this bull.

Daylon Swearingen on 162 The Right Stuff:

The Right Stuff gave up 91.75 points to Jess Lockwood at last year’s World Finals, but that’s the only time he’s been ridden in 22 career outs. He can be fast and he often takes some long jumps before turning back, and that makes him tricky to ride. If Swearingen can get into the spin in good shape things may go better for him, but this bull really gave Lockwood all he could handle. He’s tough to ride every time.

Kaique Pacheco on 412 Marquis Metal Works Bill the Butcher:

This could be a big score. Bill the Butcher is a wild, high-leaping bull, but Pacheco does well on this kind of bull. They met once in 2017, and Pacheco rode him 7.97 seconds before coming down. He has a great chance to get all the way there today.

Jess Lockwood on 635 Axle:

Axle doesn’t have a long history, but he made short work of Jose Vitor Leme just a few weeks ago. He should go to the left, and he can get very steep and have a lot of drop. Lockwood is as hard to throw off as this bull is hard to ride, and this should be an epic matchup.

Joao Ricardo Vieira on 711 Sharon’s Little Twister:

This bull is here because he had an outstanding trip in Fort Worth with Cannon Cravens. He only has four outs on record, but his out in Fort Worth was world class. We don’t really know what to expect out of him, but he should go to the left, and that gives Vieira a chance.

Jose Vitor Leme on 001 Smooth Operator:

Leme is 1-for-2 on this bull, and he’s the only lefty to have ever ridden Smooth Operator in 110 career outs. That’s largely because Smooth Operator uncharacteristically went to the left with him in Columbus, Ohio, last year. That’s rare for a bull who has pretty much gone to the right his whole career. Leme is certainly very good on bulls that go away from his hand, and he’s riding at a very high level right now. This bull is also getting older and isn’t as unrideable as he once was, but he’s long been the toughest bull in the game when he goes away from a guy’s hand. If he goes to the right here, the odds are heavily with the bull. If he does anything else, this is a push.

© 2020 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.