Bolt d’Oro filly prevails in Hillsborough S. (G2) thriller
March 7, 2026
Destino d’Oro got her nose on the wire at just the right time to win a three-way photo in the $225,000 Hillsborough S. (G2) March 7 at Tampa Bay Downs, giving the 4-year-old Bolt d’Oro filly her third straight stakes win.
Destino d’Oro settled off the early pace and was fifth the first time the field went under the wire. She continued her inside trip through a half-mile in a slow :49.90, then swung to the two-path going into the final turn. She had to check off heels twice on that bend, leaving her last in the field of seven approaching the quarter-mile mark.
Jockey Junior Alvarado swung his mount four-wide for the stretch run, and his filly responded with a fantastic run in the final furlong to get to the wire a nose in front of Whiskey Decision, with Proctor Street another neck back in third.
Owned by Steve Landers Racing LLC and bred in Kentucky by Hurstland Farm, Inc. and James H. Greene Jr., Destino d’Oro won the Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G2) and the Tropical Park Oaks prior to Saturday’s victory. Her record now stands at 6-0-1 in nine starts, with earnings of $949,884.
Pedigree Notes from the TDN:
With five crops of racing age, Spendthrift Farm stalwart Bolt d’Oro lays claim to 20 Group and Graded stakes horses across both surfaces and several countries. That collection is led by GI Del Mar Debutante Stakes victress Tamara, the daughter of Hall of Famer Beholder, but the sire does claim Major Dude, Ruby Nell, Bold Discovery, and Boppy O as noteworthy turf winners. Last season, Drexel Hill flew his banner in the GI Kentucky Oaks, finishing second, and that daughter made a successful 2026 return to the races in Tampa’s Wayward Lass Stakes.
Bolt d’Oro, who stands this year for $25,000 S&N, leads all Fifth-Crop sires by stakes winners, graded stakes winners, and individual winners.