Espinoza Lands Bolt d’Oro Derby Mount

[Wandering Eyes]

Three-time GI Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Victor Espinoza has picked up the Derby mount on highly ranked California-based contender Bolt d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro), the 45-year-old Hall-of-Fame rider confirmed via phone Tuesday morning.

The mount had been open only for a brief window of time after the colt’s second-place finish in Saturday’s GI Santa Anita Derby.

Fellow Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, who had been aboard for each of Bolt d’Oro’s last two races, had informed owner/trainer Mick Ruis earlier this week that he would be accepting a commitment aboard GI Florida Derby winner Audible (Into Mischief) for the Kentucky Derby, citing a loyalty to Audible’s connections as his primary reason for the switch.

Ruis then asked Espinoza to meet him Monday afternoon to formally offer him the mount, but it had been widely reported as far back as March that Espinoza was in consideration as Bolt d’Oro’s next rider. Espinoza has been working the colt in the mornings and said that he had an “if anything happens” type of agreement with Ruis as a backup plan.

“We talked about it, and I was like, ‘OK. Let’s do it,'” Espinoza said. “We’re in this together, and hopefully we can win the Kentucky Derby.”

Earlier this winter, Espinoza said his only viable Derby candidate had been Greyvitos (Malibu Moon). But when that colt was sidelined because of knee chip surgery, he started keeping an eye out for other options aboard top 3-year-olds.

Ruis had already committed the Mar. 10 GII San Felipe S. mount to Castellano, but because that rider is based in the East, he asked the Santa Anita Park-based Espinoza to work Bolt d’Oro in the mornings leading up to that race.

“I said sure, because I didn’t mind helping him out, and I was curious too how fit this horse was,” Espinoza said.

Bolt d’Oro was moved up from second to win the San Felipe via disqualification after a demanding stretch battle with ‘TDN Rising Star’

McKinzie (Street Sense), who has since been declared off the Derby trail with a leg injury.

“For the Santa Anita Derby, it would have been hard for Mick to make a change after already winning,” Espinoza said. “So he asked me to continue [working the horse], and I don’t have any problem doing a favor for anyone when they need one, because we are all on the same team as a group. I said I’ll stand by and see if anything happens, because I didn’t have any other mount. It’s worth it just to stand by for any opportunity.”

Bolt d’Oro chased undefeated ‘TDN Rising Star’ Justify (Scat Daddy) to no avail in the Santa Anita Derby, again crossing the finish wire second. But as detailed in this week’s version of the TDN Derby Top 20, the effort didn’t seem as taxing to Bolt d’Oro as the exhausting San Felipe stretch fight did, perhaps setting him up to fire fresh in the Run for the Roses.

Asked if he’s already starting to formulate a race strategy for the Derby, Espinoza said not quite yet.

“It’s kind of hard for me to say that, because it’s a little bit early,” Espinoza said. “I’d like to see how a couple of the horses [in the GI Arkansas Derby and GIII Lexington S.] are going to run this weekend. It’s important for me to know all the contenders for the Kentucky Derby. In my opinion, Bolt d’Oro is one of the top horses for the Derby. And also, he has more experience so far. He’s been running for quite awhile. He has that [big race] experience.

“The Kentucky Derby is the toughest and the roughest race ever,” Espinoza continued. “Horses, they have to be super, super good if they don’t have that experience. Bolt d’Oro reminds me of [2014 Derby winner] California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit), in that he’s run quite a few times before the Kentucky Derby. It’s easy for me to ride that kind of horse that has that experience. It makes my job more easy.”

Espinoza said his morning familiarity with Bolt d’Oro has served to get him acquainted with how the horse is likely to handle the Derby hoopla and pressure.

“What I like about him, he’s really kind and calm. Nothing bothers him,” Espinoza said. “He saves his energy a lot. I remember the first time that I worked him, walking to the track, he just stood there and took it all in. These things might sound like little details, but when horses can save their own energy, it helps a lot. In the Kentucky Derby, [entrants] have to walk from the barn area all the way to the paddock, and there’s a lot of people and noise. So a horse like Bolt d’Oro, it’s going to help him a lot because he’s not a hyper horse. He’ll save all his energy for the race.”

Besides California Chrome, Espinoza’s other two Derby winners were War Emblem (Our Emblem) in 2002 and American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile), who went on to capture the 2015 Triple Crown. -@thorntontd

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