Bolt d'Oro Untouchable in FrontRunner

Bolt d'Oro's first two wins were impressive enough, but he arrived Sept. 30 in the $300,000 FrontRunner Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park.

After a comfortable tracking trip behind longshot frontrunner Take the One O One, Bolt d'Oro turned the 1 1/16-mile test into a one-horse race as the field turned for home. Runner-up Solomini tried his hardest to challenge, but hit the wire 7 3/4 lengths behind the Mick Ruis-owned and -trained winner, who stopped the clock in 1:43.54.

Earlier in the card Paradise Woods won the 1 1/16-mile Zenyatta Stakes (G1) in 1:44.34 and Moonshine Memories completed the distance in 1:46.32 to win the Chandelier Stakes (G1).

"This was pretty cool," Ruis said. "We thought he was going to run a good race. We thought he could run two turns, and now we know he can."

After a clean break under jockey Corey Nakatani, the Medaglia d'Oro  colt put himself into position early in the race behind Take the One O One, who set fractions of :23.17, :47.23, and 1:11.88 through six furlongs. Bolt d'Oro cruised by the leader in the final turn, opened up three lengths with a furlong to run, and extended the margin to the wire.

"I was more impressed when I watched the replay," Nakatani said. "I really liked the way he did it. He's confident wherever he is at. He is a special animal. Mick gave me the instructions and the horse did the rest."

Solomini moved into striking range in the final turn, but simply could not keep up in the stretch. The Bob Baffert-trained Curlin  colt, who won his 6 1/2-furlong debut Sept. 2 at Del Mar, finished 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Take the One O One for second.

"He ran a great race," said Solomini's jockey, Flavien Prat. "That was only his second start and he did everything I asked him to do. He was just beat by a good horse that has more experience."

The clean break was important for Bolt d'Oro in his first try in a two-turn race, considering he caused his own trouble in his first two races with slow starts. The winning margins in his two previous races—2 1/4 lengths in his debut Aug. 5 at Del Mar, and three-quarters of a length in the Del Mar Futurity (G1) Sept. 4—likely would have been wider if not for sluggish starts.

"We learned that he could break today," Ruis said. "We always knew he could, but we didn't want him to think he was a sprinter in those races, so I think we're on the right track. ... Our goal was this race and the Breeders' Cup (Juvenile, G1), and then give him a chance to grow up. Hopefully what dreams are made of is what this guy might be able to get us to."

Bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm, out of the A.P. Indy mare Globe Trot, Bolt d'Oro now has $396,000 in earnings. He was a $630,000 purchase by his connections at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale from the Denali Stud consignment.

While his owner and trainer was somewhat vague about his hopes for the colt, his jockey didn't mince words.

"I'm looking forward to the Breeders' Cup, as well as the first Saturday in May in Kentucky," Nakatani said.

He's not talking about the Pat Day Mile (G3).