Bolo, back after layoff, shows off solid form in Arcadia Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. – Early Saturday morning, trainer Carla Gaines was awake and listening to light rain fall at her home not far from Santa Anita. Bolo, her multiple stakes winner on turf, was less than 12 hours from a start in Saturday’s Grade 2 Arcadia Stakes, and the weather made Gaines cross.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she said. “I heard it rain, and said, ‘Stop! Okay?’ I was so worried about the turf.”

The rain did eventually stop, leaving the turf course in good condition for the $200,000 Arcadia Mile. Gaines feared a wet turf course, but Bolo thrived in the conditions. A 5-year-old, Bolo overcame traffic to win by a head over an unlucky What a View.

Ridden by Mike Smith, Bolo was tough to handle in the first three furlongs before settling into a stalking position on the inside. In the stretch, Smith guided Bolo outside of Conquest Enforcer and What a View.

Bolo quickly accelerated to take the lead in the last strides.

“We never looked like a winner,” Gaines said. “We were yelling, ‘Get third, get third’. And then, ‘Get second, get second.’ Then, we thought, did we win?”

What a View looked like a winner in the final furlong. He has been a game second in two starts this year, including the California Cup Turf Classic for state-breds Jan. 28.

Bolo won the Arcadia Stakes for the second consecutive year. And, for the second straight year, the Arcadia was Bolo’s first start after a layoff. He was rested in the summer of 2015 after a spring and summer campaign that included a third in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby and a 12th in American Pharoah’s Kentucky Derby.

After the win in the 2016 Arcadia, Bolo was winless in three subsequent starts. He underwent a tie-back surgery to improve breathing after a last-place finish of nine in the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes at Del Mar last July.

Owned by the Golden Pegasus Racing partnership and Earle Mack, Bolo has won 5 of 13 starts and has earned $614,045. Santa Anita chairman Keith Brackpool is part of the Golden Pegasus partnership.

The Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile on turf March 11 is a goal, Gaines said. The Arcadia was Bolo’s third stakes win.

“Our plan is to win a Grade 1 with this horse and that’s a start,” Gaines said.