IRELAND and Britain might have been in near-shutdown recently due to the weather, but there has been plenty going on around the globe in places like Florida, California, Dubai and Australia.

According to the betting, this year’s Kentucky Derby on May 5th is the most open for years, but regular Time Will Tell readers will know that I regarded Bolt d’Oro as head if not shoulders above the rest of last year’s US juvenile crop. He ran very fast (127 timefigure by my reckoning) when winning the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes at Santa Anita but then got a brutal trip and came only third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar. He has not run since.

But the good news is that he has been back in work for some time and is due to reappear this Saturday in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita. The less-good news is that he has shown a tendency to start slowly in his track work.

Bolt D’Oro may well face McKinzie and Kanthaka – worth figures of about 114 and 116 – at the weekend and really should win, or at least shape very well in defeat, if he is the horse he was.

A tougher rival further down the line could be Audible, who looked worth about 117 when winning the Grade 2 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream in February. Incidentally, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Good Magic could finish only third behind 114-rated Promises Fulfilled in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream last Saturday.

There is little between several fillies on the road to the Kentucky Oaks on May 4th, but the different attitude many Americans have to the effect of weight was in evidence in the Davona Dale Stakes at Gulfstream last Saturday. Fly So High won by three lengths and was promoted to favouritism for the fillies’ classic but connections of runner-up Take Charge Paula are entitled to fancy their chances of turning the tables off 6lb better terms and at an extra furlong. Both look to be worth figures in the mid-110s.