Olympiad brings his best stuff in Mineshaft

Olympiad’s second stakes start was far less confusing than his first.

The talented 4-year-old colt did everything right this past Saturday at Fair Grounds, shipping from South Florida to win the Grade 3, $250,000 Mineshaft Stakes by 2 1/4 lengths, and clocking a track-record 1:42.01 for 1 1/16 miles.

“He’s a nice little horse,” trainer Bill Mott said. “It looks like he came out if it well enough. He ran fast. We’ll let him get over this race and talk about another one.”

Olympiad got a 102 Beyer Speed Figure for his Mineshaft performance, three points below the career-best figure he earned in the famous Baby Yoda allowance race at Saratoga last summer. The unheralded Baby Yoda won by 4 1/2 lengths over Olympiad on Sept. 4 and got a 114 Beyer, second-highest figure behind Flightline during 2021. Olympiad’s Beyer from that race was 105.

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Olympiad made his stakes debut last fall in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile, where he raced in a contending position much of the trip, only to drop back past the three-furlong marker like a horse about to take a hearty defeat. Mott thought that’s what he was seeing, but Olympiad found stride again before the eighth pole and rallied to finish fourth, beaten 4 1/2 lengths, before galloping out in front.

Saturday’s performance was easy to assess. Olympiad acted professionally in the paddock, broke alertly, and responded kindly to his jockey’s rating hold. He waited behind pacesetting Silver Prospector before jockey Junior Alvarado asked Olympiad the question and got a ready answer.

“The horse has a lot of class,” Mott said.

The Mineshaft marked Olympiad’s second race around two turns. The first was an easy Gulfstream allowance win Jan. 15 over 1 1/16 miles, same distance as the Mineshaft and as far as Olympiad has raced. Can Olympiad go farther and become a top handicap horse?

“That’s a question that has to be answered,” Mott said.

The $400,000 New Orleans Classic over 1 1/8 miles on March 26 is one obvious laboratory in which to conduct a class and distance test for Olympiad, but Mott said that race was only one possible next step for Olympiad. The colt was nominated to the Dubai World Cup and could be considered for that 1 1/4-mile race on March 26, pending a formal invitation.

“We’ll keep all the options open for a couple weeks,” Mott said.