Kentucky Derby likely next start for Incredibolt after Virginia Derby win
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In the final furlong of the $500,000 Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs last Saturday, one might have thought that Incredibolt joined the race late. With an incredible burst on the rail, the 3-year-old colt sprinted far ahead of a tangled mess of horses on the way to a four-length victory.
When trainer Riley Mott and jockey Jaime Torres conferred later about Incredibolt's fast finish, in which he completed the final furlong in 11.94 seconds, both had the same thought: more distance. With 60 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby now in the bank, it was an exciting conclusion for them to reach.
“He was accelerating through the wire,” Mott said. “Jaime said he just kept on going on the gallop-out, like the horse hardly took a deep breath, so he certainly got over the track well and ran the way we were hoping he would.”
The Virginia Derby, moved to dirt last year, is seven weeks away from the Kentucky Derby, making it an awkwardly timed prep. Last year, Virginia Derby winner American Promise went on to finish 16th in the Kentucky Derby off the layoff.
Mott primarily chose the Virginia Derby as a potential bounce-back start for Incredibolt, who was profoundly disappointing in his 3-year-old debut, a 25 1/4-length defeat in the Grade 3 Holy Bull at Gulfstream. He earned a career-best 88 Beyer Speed Figure at Colonial Saturday, completing the one-turn, 1 1/8-mile race in 1:47.76.
Now that he’s a Kentucky Derby contender, the timing of the Virginia Derby becomes all-important.
In the past, horses have occasionally gone straight from the Tampa Bay Derby in early March to Churchill Downs, but most trainers prefer to run their final prep in late March or early April. Since 2000, barring the COVID-impacted 2020 season, no horse has won the Derby off a seven-week break, but Mott made bucking history seem like a logical course of action.
“For me, it's not a big concern,” Mott said. “You have to just look at the type of horse you're dealing with, and Incredibolt, in particular, is kind of a lean-muscled type of horse who gets a lot of fitness out of his training and his workouts. So he's a horse that I really don't foresee it being that big of an issue.”
Incredibolt will return to Florida and train at the Palm Meadows Training Center for the next month. If all goes well, he will ship to Churchill Downs approximately two weeks before the Kentucky Derby.
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