Mott hopes Olympiad can rebound in Jockey Club Gold Cup
Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Sometimes when horses run a poor race, their trainers will simply act as if it never occurred. Hall of Famer Bill Mott is not one of those.
As he prepares to send Olympiad into the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) t Saratoga on Saturday, he is troubled by the 4-year-old’s fourth-place finish in the Aug. 6 Whitney (G1) – and he doesn’t mind admitting that.
“I guess you can’t draw a line through it. You’ve got to look at it. It’s there,” he said. “You’ve got to just hope he comes back and runs better next time.”
Adding to the mystery is that the 4-year-old son of crack sprinter Speightstown had rattled off five consecutive victories this season before his Whitney whiff. The streak consisted of an allowance optional claiming win at Gulfstream Park, the Mineshaft (G3) and New Orleans Classic (G2) at Fair Grounds and the Alysheba (G2) and Stephen Foster (G2) at Churchill Downs.
He traveled so well and was so well regarded before the Whitney that he went off as the second choice in the wagering, behind heavily favored Life Is Good. But he was dull throughout the prestigious 1 1/8-mile contest and was no match for Life Is Good, Happy Saver or Hot Rod Charlie, the top three finishers. He came in fourth of five starters, ahead of only the distanced Zoomer.
Regular rider Junior Alvarado, who retains the mount for the $1.25 million Gold Cup, felt helpless during the Whitney after riding Olympiad with such confidence before that.
“He didn’t run his race,” Alvarado said afterward. “At the half-mile I knew I was in trouble. He wasn’t traveling or picking it up like he normally does.”
It was only the second time Olympiad failed to hit the board in 11 career starts. His other miss occurred in his only other Grade 1 try, when he was no match for Americanrevolution in the Dec. 4 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct. Americanrevolution leads a quartet of Gold Cup starters for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.
Olympiad, a $700,000 purchase at Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale, boasts a record of 11: 7-1-1 overall. He has earned $1,472,560 on behalf of LNJ Foxwoods, Grandview Equine and Cheyenne Stable, with $1,307,120 coming this year.
The horse has tested Mott’s immense patience before. He broke his maiden at Saratoga on Sept. 5, 2020, in his second career outing, then did not start again until he placed second in an allowance race at the charming upstate New York track on Sept. 4, 2021.
“We always liked him,” Mott said. “We were just waiting for him to get over some physical issues he had as a baby, waiting for him to mature.”
As Mott reflects on the Whitney and looks ahead to the 1 1/4-mile Gold Cup, which offers the winner an automatic, fees-paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, one source of hope is a significant change to the racing surface since the Whitney. Clay was added to the track after a number of prominent trainers complained that it was too deep and tiring.
“The track should be a little tighter, a little faster,” Mott noted. “Maybe he’ll appreciate that.”
The multiple graded-stakes winner returned to the work tab on Aug. 19 with an impressive four-furlong drill in 48.88 seconds, which ranked second of 34. In his only other move ahead of the Gold Cup, he traveled four furlongs in a more modest 49.9 seconds on Aug. 28.
No physical concerns could be found to explain the Whitney. The colt has not missed any training since then. He will break from post 2 as part of a solid eight-horse field.
Mott warns against attaching too much weight to the Whitney when the rest of the horse’s body of work is so impressive. “It’s the one mediocre race he’s had this year,” he said. “Now, I wouldn’t want to see him do it again.”
Mott is bidding for his fourth Gold Cup triumph. His most memorable success in the tradition-rich race occurred in 1995, when Cigar prevailed as part of his unforgettable 16-race winning streak.