Bolt d'Oro retired to stand at Spendthrift Farm

Multiple Grade 1 winner Bolt d'Oro has been retired and has settled in at Spendthrift Farm, where he will begin his stud career in February.

Bolt d'Oro has not started since finishing 11th in the Metropolitan Handicap on June 9 for owner and trainer Mick Ruis. The Medaglia d'Oro colt subsequently was moved to trainer Steve Asmussen and freshened, with a long-range goal of starting in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap on Nov. 23 at Churchill Downs as a possible career finale. Bolt d'Oro had been working steadily at Churchill Downs in recent weeks, but emerged from his final published work, on Oct. 17, with a slight setback, and the decision was made to retire him to Spendthrift, which had secured his breeding rights in the fall of his 2-year-old season. The colt has been showing to breeders this week during the major November breeding stock sales in Lexington.

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"He's settling in really well," Spendthrift's Ned Toffey said on Wednesday at Keeneland. "We gave him about a week on the farm to settle in and acclamate before we started showing him, but he's such a good-minded horse. I think the first time we laid eyes on him, we could appreciate that about him . . . He's a really intelligent horse, and I think that was something that was a good part of his success, and is helping him settle in really well."

Bolt d'Oro won the first three starts of his career, including the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity and Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes, before finishing third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar. He returned to win the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes via the disqualification of McKinzie in March, then finished second to eventual Triple Crown winner Justify in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. He was 12th on the sloppy track in the Kentucky Derby before starting in the Met Mile five weeks later.