Bolo returns to turf in prep for Belmont Derby
ARCADIA, Calif. – A start in the Kentucky Derby earlier this month was a failed experiment with Bolo.
A turf stakes winner last winter, Bolo was third in the Santa Anita Derby in early April but could only finish 12th behind American Pharoah in the Kentucky Derby on May 2. The result confirmed trainer Carla Gaines’s long-standing impression of Bolo – he is best on grass.
On Friday at Santa Anita, Bolo is back on turf for the first time since December in a $65,000 allowance race at 1 1/8 miles for 3-year-olds. Gaines considers the allowance race a prep for the $1.25 million Belmont Derby at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Belmont Park on July 4.
“I’d like to get him back out there,” Gaines said.
Bolo is part of a field of five that includes stakes winner Sky Preacher and stakes-placed Hero Ten All.
KEY CONTENDERS
Bolo (Last 3 Beyers: 86-95-101)
◗ Bolo was beaten 12 3/4 lengths by American Pharoah in the Kentucky Derby, racing as close as fourth in the opening half-mile. He faded in the final quarter-mile.
“His trip to the Derby was very easy on him,” Gaines said. “He came back in very good form. I haven’t weighed him, but if he’s lost a pound, I’d be surprised.”
◗ Since the Kentucky Derby, Gaines said Bolo has been “a little aggressive in his gallops.”
◗ Bolo made his first three starts on turf as a 2-year-old, winning a maiden race in his second start in November and winning the Eddie Logan Stakes at a mile in December by 4 1/2 lengths.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Bolo. Trainer Carla Gaines is 25-3-5-2 with a $1.02 ROI over the past five years going dirt to turf in routes. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Sky Preacher (Last 3 Beyers: 85-82-69)
◗ Sky Preacher was second in the Oak Tree Juvenile Turf at Del Mar last summer before finishing eighth behind American Pharoah in the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes on dirt last September. In two starts this year, Sky Preacher was fifth in an allowance race on the hillside turf course April 10 and won the minor Alcatraz Stakes at a mile on turf at Golden Gate Fields on May 10.
◗ Sky Preacher is trained by Doug O’Neill, who also starts Royal Albert Hall, who was second in an optional claimer at a mile on turf May 10.
Hero Ten All (Last 3 Beyers: 78-52-79)
◗ Trained by Jeff Mullins, Hero Ten All struggled in main-track stakes this year, finishing sixth in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes and a well-beaten fourth in the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Feb. 7.
◗ Hero Ten All was second in the La Puente Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf April 18, finishing behind Papacoolpapacool, a candidate for the $500,000 Penn Mile in Pennsylvania on Saturday.