Bejarano puts Bolo through his paces

ARCADIA, Calif. – Friday was a pivotal morning for Bolo and jockey Rafael Bejarano at Santa Anita.

A little more than a week before Bolo’s scheduled start in the $2 million Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 2, Bejarano had a chance to exercise his mount for the first time. What he discovered was a colt with sharp acceleration who can be patient.

Trained by Carla Gaines, Bolo worked in company with stablemate Los Gatos and ran five furlongs in 59.60 seconds, the fourth-fastest time of the morning for the distance. Bolo was aggressive at the start of the workout, forcing Bejarano to take a strong hold. Bolo settled behind Los Gatos and was handy for Bejarano through the first quarter-mile.

“He tried to run off,” said Bejarano, the leading jockey in Southern California. “When he got closer to that horse, he got comfortable. At the three-eighths pole, I was closing. It was perfect.”

Bolo was alongside Los Gatos with a quarter-mile remaining and finished more than a length in front, squeezing between his stablemate to the inside and two other horses exercising at a slower pace in the middle of the track.

“He finished really comfortably on the dirt,” Bejarano said.

Bolo was third in the Santa Anita Derby on April 4 and has yet to win on dirt. Owned by Golden Pegasus Racing and Earle Mack, Bolo has won 2 of 5 starts and earned $249,700.

Bolo was beaten 6 1/2 lengths by Dortmund in the Santa Anita Derby. Last December, Bolo won the Eddie Logan Stakes at a mile on turf, his lone stakes win.

Bolo is scheduled to be flown to Churchill Downs on Sunday.