Riley Mott consulted dad before entering Incredibolt in Preakness

LAUREL, Md. – In addition to consulting with the principals of Pin Oak Stud, the owners of Incredibolt, trainer Riley Mott sought the advice of another person before deciding whether to wheel the sixth-place finisher from the Kentucky Derby back in two weeks in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes: his Hall of Fame training father, Bill Mott.

Some may sense some irony in that, as Bill Mott famously skipped last year’s Preakness with Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty and had some comments taken out of context the day after this year’s Derby when he said Chief Wallabee, who finished fourth in the race, wouldn’t be considered for the Preakness. A quote attributed to Mott that made the rounds on social media was, “Nobody talks about the Preakness.”

What Mott actually said was, “Nobody’s ever talked about the Preakness” – referring to Katherine and Michael Ball, the owners of Chief Wallabee.

“He’s not on social media, so I don’t even know if he realizes people are hating on him for his Preakness comments,” Riley Mott said Wednesday by phone from Ellis Park, where he was setting up a string for the upcoming meet. “Along with me consulting with the Pin Oak team, he was the one that really encouraged me to do it.”

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Riley Mott said it was literally a last-minute decision to run Incredibolt in the Preakness, not finalizing plans until Monday, a few hours before the race was to be drawn. Riley Mott said it was around noon that day when he talked with people from Pin Oak and his dad.

“I called my dad and I was like, ‘Hey, what do you think? Would I be crazy to wheel this horse right back?’ " Riley said he asked his father. “He pushed me to do it. He was in agreement. He said, 'Run that horse back in there if you feel like he’s doing good.’

"He’s basically only run twice this year if you don’t count the Gulfstream race, which he didn’t really run. He [Bill Mott] was like, ‘Man, you got a lightly raced horse, he came back good – you might jump up and win the Preakness, for all you know.’ “

Incredibolt went 2 for 3 at age 2, winning the Grade 3 Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs to cap his season. Incredibolt made his 3-year-old debut in the Grade 3 Holy Bull on Jan. 31, where he hardly ran a step, finishing last of six. The belief was Incredibolt didn’t handle Gulfstream’s track.

Incredibolt came back six weeks later at Colonial Downs and won the Virginia Derby, a race that earned him enough points to get into the Kentucky Derby. There, Incredibolt ran a credible sixth, beaten four lengths by Golden Tempo after brushing with Renegade in the stretch. Renegade finished second in the Derby.

Incredibolt was tabbed the horse to beat in the Preakness by Steve Asmussen, the trainer of Chip Honcho, who called the move “brilliant,” and Danny Gargan, the trainer of Talkin.

“Riley Mott’s horse is the one to beat,” Gargan said. “I wasn’t happy when he entered the race.”

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