Bolt d'Oro heads to FrontRunner as the front-runner

DEL MAR, Calif. – Bolt d’Oro, winner of the Del Mar Futurity on Monday, was resting comfortably in his stall Tuesday morning, readying for a trip to Santa Anita later in the day before a return to Del Mar this fall in his bid to lock up a championship.

By virtue of a Grade 1 victory over the track where the Breeders’ Cup will be held in less than two months, Bolt d’Oro became the horse to beat in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 4. His owner and trainer, Mick Ruis, said Bolt d’Oro had come out of the race well and would prep in the Grade 1 FrontRunner at Santa Anita on Sept. 30.

“He’s bucking, kicking, and his legs are cold,” Ruis said Tuesday. “Did you see his gallop-out? I know he can get the distance.”

Both the FrontRunner and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile are at 1 1/16 miles.

Bolt d’Oro wore blinkers in his first two starts, both wins, here at Del Mar, but Ruis said he would remove them for the FrontRunner because he doesn’t need to be as sharp going two turns.

Bolt d’Oro, by Medaglia d’Oro, got a Beyer Speed Figure of 85 in the Del Mar Futurity.

“He’s going to move forward,” Ruis said. “I haven’t asked too much of him yet.”

Zatter, second in the Del Mar Futurity, is likely to go to the FrontRunner.

“He ran a good race up on the pace,” said his trainer, Bob Baffert.

Run Away was third in the Del Mar Futurity, suffering his first loss in four starts while stretching out to seven furlongs for the first time. His plans are undetermined.

“He seems fine, but we’re not 100 percent sure about his next start,” trainer Simon Callaghan said Tuesday. “We’ll give it some thought.”

Tatters to Riches, who finished sixth, is nominated to the FrontRunner, but trainer Jeff Mullins said he’s considering “other options,” including the turf.