Bolt d'Oro

"Looking for the hidden gem." That, to Mike Slezak, is the point of crossover; the place where his breakout success dovetails with a personal passion that has now evolved into a way of life. "Which means trying to ask questions in a different way," he elaborates. "Not making assumptions, looking a little closer." To the many who first encountered Slezak in his American Idol debrief shows, the next stage of the analogy will make perfect sense. "It's scouting for a contestant like David Cook," he explains. "No-one thought he was...

With nominations for the $500,000 Virginia Derby closing Wednesday, Feb. 25, GSW Incredibolt (Bolt d'Oro) and Ocelli (Connect) have emerged as likely starters, Colonial Downs said in a press release on Friday. The 1 1/8-mile Virginia Derby will be run Saturday, Mar. 14, highlighting Colonial Downs's three-day meet held Mar. 12-14. Nominations for all seven opening week stakes also close Feb. 25. Held just under two months from the GI Kentucky Derby, the Virginia Derby awards 50-25-15-10-5 qualifying points to the top five finishers toward a berth in the "Run...

Two Bits (American Pharoah) and Interstatelovesong (Bolt d'Oro) treated the Aqueduct faithful to an entertaining final-furlong tussle, with the former coming out just on top and the top two pulling a country mile clear of the others in Friday's Ruthless Stakes. Outsprinted and at the back of a compact field as Interstatelovesong showed the way, Two Bits was angled down towards the inside and made steady progress to be just behind the dueling front-runners nearing the entrance to the turn. Traveling comfortably in hand for the run into the final...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horse of interest for this Saturday running at Tokyo Racecourse: Saturday, February 7, 2026 7th-TOK, ¥15,620,000 ($100k), Allowance, 3yo, 1400m FULMINE BLU (c, 3, Bolt d'Oro--Thundering Sky, by Sky Mesa) was hammered at the tills to the tune of 19-10 favoritism when unveiled over a mile at this...

NOBLE AFFAIR (c, 3, Vekoma--Paden Affair, by Rockport Harbor) was unveiled Dec. 27 at this venue but sprinting on the turf, and ran on well to claim third in a blanket finish after trailing early on from eighth. Moved to the dirt for this second jump, he was asked to navigate a sloppy surface as Fair Grounds hustled to beat the weather, and left the gates carrying 3-1 odds on this seasonal debut. Out to set the pace through an opening quarter in :22.38 and after four furlongs in :45.89,...

Hallandale Beach, FL--With Saturday's racing action already in full swing, the afternoon's Pegasus World Cup races got underway with 15-1 chance Destino d'Oro (Bolt d'Oro) getting up late to win the GII Filly and Mare Turf over Crevalle d'Oro (Constitution). Not particularly hurried coming out of the gate, the Brad Cox trainee broke well but was settled back near the back as 3-1 choice In Our Time (Not This Time) raced up to the front from her outside berth with And One More Time (Omaha Beach) and Movin' On Up...

He won at first-asking, but proved that the increase in real estate was no problem for him, and Jackson Hole (Nyquist) strolled home on seasonal bow at Fair Grounds to become the latest 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' for his sire. A length winner against maidens Dec 13 at Gulfstream Park, the son of GI Kentucky Derby hero Nyquist was strongly supported at the windows to the tune of 4-5 favoritism here, and never gave them a scare. Loping along from the rail, he set a controlled pace in...

The band we reach today, between $20,000 and $29,999, perhaps represents the sweet spot of the entire pyramid. It features sires of adequate achievement to have elevated themselves clear of the basement, yet without obtaining the kind of commercial luster that puts them beyond mortal pockets. The most established names retain their customary place on our Value Podium, not least as a tremendous route to proving a mare; but this tier also features one or two that could be on the point of cycling through delayed rewards for their early...

Interstatelovesong (Bolt d'Oro) was a game runner-up on debut to New York-bred Britain (Quality Road) over the local course Nov. 20. Bet down to 48 cents on the dollar here, the favorite fired from the rail gate and soon established a modest lead up the backstretch. The filly though was in firm control around the far turn and the homebred scampered down the lane to graduate by five lengths over Pulling Threads (Practical Joke). The winner's dam is responsible for a yearling colt by Game Winner. A 2024 Keeneland November...

3rd-CD, 120K, Msw, 3yo/up, f, 6f, 1:56 p.m. John Gunther and Eurowest Bloodstock debut their homebred filly FIRE MOON (Justify), a half-sister to GI Hollywood Derby winner and young sire Mo Town (Uncle Mo). First dam Grazie Mill has also produced Fire Moon's full-sister in MSW/MGSP Justique who just sold earlier in the month at Keeneland for $2,000,000 to Whisper Hill Farm. Yet another half-sister, Vita Bella (Super Save), is responsible for Kentucky Juvenile Stakes winner West Memorial (Caracaro). Gunther picked up second dam Molto Vita for just $24,000 as...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this Sunday running at Tokyo Racecourse: Sunday, November 23, 2025 4th-TOK, ¥14,250,000 ($90k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1600m FULMINE BLU (c, 2, Bolt d'Oro--Thundering Sky, by Sky Mesa), a half-brother to the multiple graded-placed middle-distance turfer Corruption (Medaglia d'Oro), was bought back on a bid of...

After being a scratch by track veterinarians from the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) is back at Santa Anita Park undergoing tests to determine a possible cause. Both Tamara and Sweet Azteca (Sharp Azteca) were scratched the morning of the Filly & Mare Sprint, later won by Splendora (Audible), and were figured to be two of the favorites in the race. At the time of the scratch, no reason had been provided for either horse. Now back in the...