Bold Thunder flaunts speed in track-record win

OLDSMAR, Fla. – Saturday’s $100,000 Turf Dash had been run 10 times before Saturday’s edition, and jockey Daniel Centeno had been aboard the winner in four of those races.

So you would think it would take a pretty fast runner to impress Centeno, a five-time Tampa riding champion. But the turn of speed Bold Thunder displayed for Centeno en route to a dazzling victory in Saturday’s Turf Dash had the rider shaking his head in wonder.

Bold Thunder wired a good field in track-record time to take the five-furlong Turf Dash by more than three lengths.

“They said he was fast, but he surprised me with his speed,” Centeno said. “We didn’t break perfect, but he was ready. He took off.”

Bold Thunder daylighted Hold On Smokey and the rest of the field to cut out dazzling fractions of 20.90 seconds and 43.09. By then, he had opened up by five and had sealed the deal, but he still covered the final furlong in 11.54, hitting the line in 54.63.

“I hadn’t been on him before, so I figured I better not take hold of him and just let him do his thing,” Centeno said. “And he sure did that!”

It’s tough to find turf sprints for big purse money, but if they run five furlongs on the grass and Bold Thunder’s in the field, he’ll take some catching.