Bolt d’Oro’s Incredibolt blasts off late to win $500,000 Virginia Derby

Incredibolt thrust himself squarely in the Kentucky Derby (G1) picture with his four-length win in Saturday’s $500,000 Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs.

The 3-year-old son of Bolt d’Oro picked up 50 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and now sits second, with 60 points on the leaderboard, behind only Paladin. Incredibolt earned his first 10 points by winning the Street Sense S. (G3) last autumn at Churchill Downs.

Incredibolt did not get the easiest of trips in Saturday’s 1 1/8-mile, one-turn race. He was bottled up behind and between horses for the long backstretch run and around the turn. At the top of the stretch, he got squeezed between horses before finally finding racing room along the inside. Once in the clear, he kicked into high gear and drew away with authority in the final sixteenth, finishing in 1:47.76 on a fast track.

“It was very impressive,” trainer Riley Mott said of the winner’s race. “He sat right in the pocket behind a hot pace and was surrounded by horses most of the way. He took Jaime (Torres) right up into a hole on the rail turning for home and then just blasted off and was pulling away at the end. He’s bred to do it and he’s shown us he can finish races going long, so we’re optimistic and hopeful we can make it to the first Saturday in May.”

Incredibolt races for Pin Oak Stud LLC and is now 3-0-0 in five starts, with earnings of $498,681.
The dark bay colt was bred in Kentucky by Deann Baer and Greg Baer DVM.

Bolt d’Oro has 21 stakes winners to his credit from five crops of racing age. Incredibolt is out of the winning Awesome Again mare Sapphire Spitfire, who has a perfect strike rate of five winners from as many to race, including the stakes-placed Fire On Time.