Bolo

[jbelfior]

Anyone know what the status is with him? Apparently his regression in the SA Derby was explained by his jock and trainer as \"he prefers grass.\"
Interesting that they did not say that after his solid effort in the San Felipe.

Good Luck,
Joe B

[Caradoc]

Gaines privately negative about going in the Derby but the owner putting big time pressure to run.  

Considering the ground loss and chasing trip, his last race may not have been a regression at all.

[miff]

Still a dirt maiden, drubbed by Dortmund twice and now will faces 6-7 nasty types plus a few others that are ok, tough spot.

[ajkreider]

I think his last fig is pretty close to Dortmund\'s given the wide trip.  He worries me, to be honest.

[mjellish]

If that\'s true I bet Vito loves him.

[JimP]

Has Vito ever picked a winner? He\'s certainly never posted one in advance.

[ajkreider]

They are going.  Bejarano up.  Trainer claims he went 65 feet farther than Dortmund in the SA Handicap.  Bloodhorse has the story.

[Molesap]

One of the more interesting aspects of this Derby is that many horses seem to have tactical speed, but none seem hell bent on the lead. Given that Bolo's breeding suggests he can handle the trip, that he supposedly hates dirt in his face, the lack of confirmed front runners in the race, the fact that he showed speed on the turf early in his career, that the CD surface has been somewhat kind to turfers in the past, his best option may be to go to the front and see what happens. His fractions were pretty quick in the Eddie Logan over the SA turf and he has been close to the lead in most of his other races.

[Fairmount1]

Interesting idea for Bolo.  

Does anyone else think with all the perceived lack of speed that Baffert might just send AP and say catch me if you can with his belief that only Dortmund could catch him at a mile and a quarter?  Obviously post might affect a decision like this.  But surely it has crossed a few minds.

[Molesap]

The list of horses that can be sent if they connections wanted to do that is long, especially depending on the post. Besides American Pharoah and Bolo as discussed, Dortmund, Materiality, El Kabeir, Upstart, Firing Line, Stanford and Mr. Z all come to mind, but there are certainly others.  The two most likely to go right now in my mind without looking at the posts are Stanford and Mr. Z.

[toppled]

Interesting take.  One is trained by a guy with multiple horses in the race & the other owned by a stable with multiple horses in the race.  It makes sense that one of the multiple runners will be sacrificed by each & the sacrificial lamb won\'t be Pharoah for Zayat nor Carpe Diem or Materiality by Pletcher.

[touchgold]

im sure others know this about his pedigree, but just in case. Bolo also has Derby connections on his maternal side. He is out of Aspen Mountain, a half-sister to Mining My Own -- the dam of both 2009 Derby shocker Mine That Bird and millionaire Dullahan, the third-placer in the 2012 Derby.

[johnnym]

Grass horses always seem to run well at Churchill.