Bolt d'Oro to stand at Spendthrift Farm after racing career
ARCADIA, Calif. – Bolt d’Oro, the winner of the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity earlier this month and one of the nation’s leading 2-year-olds, will stand at stud at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Ky., at the conclusion of his racing career, owner and trainer Mick Ruis and farm owner B. Wayne Hughes said on Sunday.
Hughes was at Santa Anita on Sunday to watch Bolt d’Oro work five furlongs in 1:01.40 in advance of the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on Saturday. The $300,000 FrontRunner Stakes is a key prep for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar on Nov. 4.
Ruis said he and his wife, Wendy, will retain ownership of Bolt d’Oro through the colt’s racing career before Hughes takes an ownership stake.
“Mr. Hughes will be our partner,” Ruis said.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We have an arrangement,” Hughes said. “He’s a beautiful horse with Grade 1 speed as a 2-year-old. We’re delighted to be entrusted with the responsibility of his second career.”
Ruis bought Bolt d’Oro for $630,000 at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale. Well regarded before his first start, Bolt d’Oro won his debut in a maiden race at 6 1/2 furlongs by 2 1/4 lengths at Del Mar on Aug. 5.
In the $300,000 Del Mar Futurity at seven furlongs on Sept. 4, Bolt d’Oro closed from eighth in a field of nine to win by three-quarters of a length. Bolt d’Oro has earned $216,000 from his two starts.
Bolt d’Oro will be favored in the FrontRunner. The new distance does not concern Mick Ruis.
“I don’t see why he couldn’t get the distance,” Ruis said. “He seems like he’s maturing and getting bigger.”
Bolt d’Oro is by Medaglia d’Oro and is out of Globe Trot, by A.P. Indy. Globe Trot, 9, was a three-time winner. She is the dam of Sonic Mule, a 3-year-old colt by Distorted Humor who has won two stakes and earned $214,230. Sonic Mule was last of 10 in the Grade 3 Gallant Bob at Parx Racing on Saturday.
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