Bolo fires

ON the other side of the country, there’s a new sheriff in town in the turf mile division. Bolo beat Irish-bred Obviously, catching the 11-time winner in the final strides of the Grade 2 Arcadia at Santa Anita on February 13th.

Owned by Golden Pegasus Racing and Earle Mack and trained by Carla Gaines, Bolo secured his fourth win in his ninth start and shook off a layoff from July.

The son of Temple City won two of his first three starts on the turf, then tried the Triple Crown trail, making three starts on the dirt, finishing third in the San Felipe and Santa Anita Derby and twelfth in the Kentucky Derby. Switched back to the turf, he won an allowance race before finishing last and being vanned off in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby in July.

Marengo Park

THE program listed “Owners: Harry and Tom Meyerhoff.” The head said it wasn’t true, the heart knew it was. At Laurel Park in Maryland, Marengo Road upset the Miracle Wood Stakes on Febuary 15th for the father and son team of Harry and Tom Meyerhoff. Harry Meyerhoff, 86, died four days before.

Winning for the third time in his eight-race career, Marengo Road kept the dream alive with a professional effort over four rivals in the one mile stakes.

Mike Trombetta has trained for the Meyerhoffs since Hall of Fame trainer Bud Delp died in 2006.

Marengo Road provided some salve to an open wound.

“He’s getting better, he’s doing what he’s supposed to be doing. He’s proven he’s a stake caliber horse and the hope is he’ll take us to something big, we’ll give him every chance to take us there,” Trombetta said.

“It was bittersweet, I never gave it any thought of how it would feel, but shortly after he won, it hit me, ‘Wow, he’s not here any more.’ I wish he could have at least seen him win, the stake wins are special.”