Bolo to stay in Golden State ahead of Breeders' Cup

ARCADIA, Calif. – It was not until Tuesday evening, more than 24 hours after Bolo won the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita, that trainer Carla Gaines sat down to watch the race on her mobile phone.

The immediate celebration after Monday’s race, and concern about the health of her popular Labrador retriever Louie, a fixture in the Santa Anita stables, kept Gaines occupied Monday evening and through Tuesday.

The replay afforded Gaines a chance to appreciate the win by Bolo, who led throughout at 32-1 in his second race since returning from a layoff of almost two years. Bolo missed all of 2018 with a tendon injury.

“It was a brilliant ride,” Gaines said, complimenting jockey Florent Geroux for keeping Bolo comfortable on the lead. Bolo won by 1 1/4 lengths over River Boyne, beating a talented field that included seven other stakes winners.

The win gave Bolo a fees-paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile here on Nov. 2. He became the first domestic horse to gain a qualifying berth, joining Do It Again and Tamburo Di Oro, who earned spots by winning major stakes in South Africa and Chile.

Bolo is truly a Santa Anita horse, and Gaines hopes to use the home-turf advantage this year. A 7-year-old gelding owned by the Golden Pegasus Racing partnership, Bolo’s next major objective is likely to be the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile on Aug. 18. The Grade 2 City of Hope Mile at the Santa Anita autumn meeting in early October is another potential target.

Bolo will not be leaving Southern California anytime soon. He is winless in three starts away from California, including a 12th behind American Pharoah in the 2015 Kentucky Derby and a ninth in the Grade 1 Maker’s 46 Mile on turf at Keeneland in April 2017, his last road trip.

“I think the last time I ran him out of town, I said I’d never do it again,” Gaines said. “He has quite a fondness for this turf course.”

Bolo has won 5 of 10 starts on turf at Santa Anita. He was sixth in the Shoemaker Mile in June 2017 and did not race again until April 28 of this year, when he finished fifth in an optional claimer at 1 1/8 miles on turf. His participation in the $501,404 Shoemaker Mile on Monday was in doubt until lunchtime that day. Gaines, who said on Monday that she can “worry about anything,” was concerned that weekend rain had left the turf course softer than Bolo would prefer.

She walked the course late in the morning and talked with jockeys Victor Espinoza and Flavien Prat after Monday’s first race, which was run on turf.

“This horse doesn’t like a lot of cut in the ground,” she said. “It’s been such a long time getting him back to the races. I walked the course. It felt surprisingly good. I talked to Victor and Flavien, they said it was fine.”

Four hours later, Bolo won the fourth stakes of his career, and his first Grade 1.