Kentucky Derby pedigree: Incredibolt sparks classic hopes

With an incredible four-length triumph in the listed Virginia Derby, Incredibolt (Bolt d'Oro - Sapphire Spitfire, by Awesome Again) clearly showed that he’s a colt who improves with racing.

Trained by Riley Mott, who hopes to emulate dad Bill Mott’s feat in last year’s Kentucky Derby, Incredibolt raced in traffic until late in the stretch, where he took advantage of a seam on the rail and burst away with powerful strides, besting Grittiness and Confessional.

Incredibolt completed 1 1/8 miles over the Colonial Downs dirt in 1:47.76 with an impressive 12-second final furlong. His final three internal furlong fractions were 13.17, 12.05, and 12.02, showing that he was speeding up at the end of the race.

As a 2-year-old, Incredibolt placed fourth in his debut at Ellis Park, then in short order won his second start and the Street Sense Stakes (G3). In his January return in the Holy Bull (G3), Incredibolt settled three lengths off the pace before rapidly retreating to the back of the pack, wandering home 25 1/2 lengths behind Nearly.

Bred by Deann Baer & Greg Baer DVM, Incredibolt was a bargain $75,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase. Racing in the familiar blue and light grey silks of Charlotte Webber’s illustrious Pin Oak Stud, Incredibolt has won three of five starts and bankrolled $498,68. With 60 points, he’s in second place behind Paladin at the top of the Kentucky Derby leaderboard.

Pedigree

Incredibolt’s pedigree is packed with stamina and talent through both his sire and distaff side.

He combines the class and scope of Bolt d’Oro, a Grade 1-winning son of Medaglia d’Oro out of an A.P. Indy mare, with the durability and route power of Awesome Again, Mineshaft, Unbridled and Seattle Slew on the dam side. The result is a pedigree that points to a colt capable of carrying his speed, which is exactly what he did in the Virginia Derby.

Bolt d’Oro (Medaglia d'Oro - Globe Trot, by A.P. Indy) is off to an excellent start at stud. With five crops of racing age, he has produced 21 stakes winners as of this month. He is noted for siring talented, precocious youngsters, including Grade 1 heroine Tamara, multiple Grade 2-winning turf horse Major Dude and 2023 Lecomte winner Instant Coffee.

From a small sample of five dirt runners, two of Bolt d'Oro's placed third at classic distances. Two won on synthetic and turf and another five placed, so it appears to be only a matter of time before one of his progeny breaks through with a classic dirt victory.

Female family

Incredibolt’s pedigree is anchored by elite female families who have consistently produced stamina-oriented runners, along with sires and broodmares with proven influence.

Incredibolt carries Rasmussen Factor inbreeding (the same superior female appears through different offspring within five generations) to Lassie Dear, through her daughters Weekend Surprise (Secretariat), dam of A.P. Indy and Summer Squall, and Lassie Connection (Seattle Slew), Incredibolt’s fourth dam.

Incredibolt is the fifth foal out of the winning mare Sapphire Spitfire (Awesome Again-Sapphiresndiamonds, by Mineshaft). All five of her foals are winners, including the multiple graded-placed sprinter Fire On Time (Not This Time), who is Incredibolt’s half-brother. Additionally, Sapphire Spitfire is a half-sister to Americanus (War Front), stakes-placed at 1 1/16 miles.

Incredibolt’s third dam, Unbridled Lassie (Unbridled), was multiple stakes-placed from the National Jockey Club Oaks at 1 1/16 miles to the CCA Oaks (G1) at 1 1/2 miles. She also placed in the 1 1/8-mile Bonnie Miss (G2). Her descendants include Grade 3 winner Caribbean Caper, Grade 1-placed juvenile Magna Light, and his full brother, multiple stakes-placed Unbridled Graduate. 

Incredibolt’s damsire Awesome Again (Deputy Minister - Primal Force, by Blushing Groom (FR)) was a cornerstone of the Stronach Stables racing and breeding program. He’s best remembered for his victory in the 1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic, defeating 1997 champion 3-year-old Silver Charm by three-quarters of a length in one of the deepest fields in Breeders’ Cup history. The lineup included eight millionaires, multiple winners of all three Triple Crown races, and defending Classic champ Skip Away, who earned 1998 horse of the year honors. Awesome Again compiled a 12: 9-0-2 record and $4,374,590 bankroll. 

Awesome Again became the first Breeders’ Cup winner to sire four Breeders’ Cup winners, including two in the same year. He also is the broodmare sire of 115 stakes winners, including 2018 champion older dirt male Accelerate, and Grade 1 winners Awesome Maria, Highland Falls and the upset winner of the 2015 Travers (G1), Keen Ice. 

Kentucky Derby contender or pretender?

The Virginia Derby was a new addition to the Kentucky Derby trail last year. The 2025 winner, American Promise (Justify), one of D. Wayne Lukas’s final stakes winners, set a track record of 1:46.41, but the effort took its toll as he finished 16th in the Kentucky Derby and eighth in the Preakness. 

There’s a lot to like about this year’s winner. Incredibolt has the pedigree and conformation of a classic contender. He’s professional with a smooth gait, shows agility and tractability in his races, and is comfortable as a pace presser, a mid-pack runner surrounded by horses, or a closer. He showed athleticism when he cut the corner in his maiden win at Churchill and threaded through a seam on the rail in the Virginia Derby. Additionally, he can sustain a high cruising speed and hasn’t run slower than 12.83 for a final furlong and has a strong gallop-out.

Despite the positives, there are a few questions surrounding the dark-bay colt. Who did he beat? And can Incredibolt bring his A game to the Derby off a seven-week layoff?

Despite the questions, Incredibolt remains an intriguing Derby prospect. Perhaps Mott can follow his father’s bootprints into the winner’s circle. If so, they would become the first father and son to do it in consecutive years.  Either way, it will be a terrific human interest story, no matter the result.