Plenty of bull power will be on display at the Ty Murray Invitational in Albuquerque this weekend. Round 2 and the short go will be draft rounds, and both of those rounds have some very seldom ridden bulls in them, so it will be important for riders to get off to a good start in Round 1.
L.J. Jenkins and Sean Willingham drew pretty well, and if they can stay on, they could have a big advantage going into Round 2 where there will be 19 bulls that have better than 85-percent career buckoff percentage. So the first draft round at Albuquerque will be about surviving with some kind of score, and a bad showing in Round 1 could lead to an even tougher task in Round 2.
Bulls to Watch:
It appears that Ty Murray has no intention of letting PBR riders dominate the bulls at his event, because he's invited quite a few that have a proven ability to eject the world's best riders.
In Round 1, a quartet of young bulls from Dillon and H.D. Page could steal the spotlight. Jacob's Pet, Crooked Face, Surefire and Bad Yeller have a combined record of 30-0 and have averaged over 44 points per out against PBR bull riders.
Round 2 is all about who can stay out of the bottom draft picks, where you will find bulls like Blizzard and Jim Dippin' that have long histories of planting good bull riders. We'll also get to see Zorro for only the third time this season.
The short go is headlined by Voodoo Child and Avalanche, who have a combined 76 buckoffs in 77 career outs. Voodoo Child is having a career year, and is currently one of the hottest bulls in the country.
I don't see him on the round 1 draw, but maybe Cody's saving him for the short-go?