Trained by Mick Ruis, Bolt d'Oro started accumulating Kentucky Derby qualifying points way back in September of 2017, when he won the (G1) Frontrunner Stakes at Santa Anita for 10 points, and then added four more with his third-place finish in the Breeders' Cup.
He added 50 more with a win in the (G2) San Felipe in his 2018 debut and finished his qualifying series by running second to Justify in the (G1) Santa Anita Derby, good for 40 more points. His 104 total points left him sixth on the final leaderboard.
Never out of the money in six lifetime starts, Bolt d'Oro made his racing debut a winning one, getting his maiden win in his very first try at Del Mar racing 6 1/2 lengths.
He then moved right into stakes racing, winning the (G1) Del Mar Futurity at seven furlongs, followed by his Frontrunner score, beating fellow 2018 Derby contender Solomini by more than seven lengths racing 1 1/16 miles. Then came his race in the BC Juvenile, where he was sent off as race favorite, but was forced into a wide trip throughout and just came up short, this time behind Solomini as well as the winner, Derby contender Good Magic.
To start his three-year-old season, he ran in the San Felipe, where he battled McKinzie down the stretch and was beaten by a head, but then put up to first when that one was deemed to have interfered in the stretch drive. As his final Kentucky Derby prep, he took on Justify in the 1 1/8 mile Santa Anita, where he ran in second throughout and finished three lengths behind the winner.
Purchased as a yearling for $630,000, Bolt d'Oro is bred for distance. His sire, Medaglia d'Oro, won the 1 1/4 mile Travers Stakes, was twice runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Classic at the same distance, and also finished second in the 2002 Belmont Stakes at 1 1/2 miles. Medaglia d'Oro was fourth in the 2002 Kentucky Derby, and won seven graded-stakes races overall. His dam is Globe Trot, who won three times at one mile, and his damsire is A.P Indy, who won both the Belmont Stakes and the Breeders' Cup Classic.
His three graded-stakes wins, two of those at the Grade 1 level, one runner-up and one third-place finish give him arguably the best resume of all Kentucky Derby runners. He's battle-tested, having gone up against the toughest competition the West coast has to offer and was competitive every step of the way. He has the tactical speed to get into a good stalking position on the Churchill Downs backstretch, and the pedigree to get the distance. He'll also have jockey Victor Espinoza, who won back-to-back Derbies in 2014 and 2015.
He may have peaked too soon. While he had a legitimate excuse in the BC Juvenile, the DQ to McKinzie in the San Felipe was somewhat controversial, and so if you take that away from him, together with the BC Juvenile defeat and the loss to Justify in the Santa Anita, he's on a three-race losing streak. He had a clear shot at getting by Justify in the SA Derby and couldn't do it. Perhaps most significant, jockey Javier Castellano had the choice of riding him or Audible in the Derby, and has chosen the latter.
A solid contender for the 2018 Kentucky Derby, right now Bovada's racebook has Bolt d'Oro listed at a generous 10-1. Most North American oddsmakers have him slightly under that, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him in the 5-1 or 6-1 range on race day.
See Also: Kentucky Derby Contenders: Magnum Moon
Category : Betting Picks
Tag : Bovada , Horse Racing
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