Riley Mott, the son of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, has come a long way in the 3 1/2 years he has been training on his own. He's already won more than 100 races and collected a pair of Grade I wins, including World Beater (Oscar Performance)'s score in last year's GI Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes. And now it looks like he'll have a starter in this year's GI Kentucky Derby. In winning the Virginia Derby, the Mott-trained Incredibolt (Bolt d'Oro) earned enough points to guarantee himself a spot in the race.
To talk about Incredibolt, how his career is going, what he hopes for in the future and what it might be like to face off against his father in the Derby, Mott joined this week's TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland. He was the Gainesway Guest of the Week.
Incredibolt was dismissed at 6-1 by the bettors in the Virginia Derby, which was no surprise since he was beaten 25 1/4 lengths in his prior start, the GIII Holy Bull Stakes. He was a completely different horse at Colonial Downs. But why?
“I was asking myself that very question as they were going down the backside during the Holy Bull,” Mott said. “I wanted to run away and hide and not talk to anybody for a couple of weeks. It was very perplexing the way he ran. I couldn't say anything other than he just really didn't like the racetrack surface. He had trained extremely well leading up to that race. Luckily for us and for the horse, the horse came back from the Holy Bull with zero issues. He probably even took a step forward physically and mentally. He got a little bit sharper, maybe put on a little bit of weight, filled out a bit. His works and training leading into the Virginia Derby were very good, and he certainly ran that way.”
There is a seven-week gap between the Virginia Derby and the Kentucky Derby, and Mott has decided to train up to the first leg of the Triple Crown. While a seven-week break may not be ideal, he said he has the right horse to handle the situation.
“With these good horses, you want to take things one step at a time, but, at the same time, you always want to be two steps ahead of the game,” Mott said. “So we were always thinking about what would happen if the horse ran well in the Virginia Derby and we were trying to pursue the Kentucky Derby. So it was thrown around after he won, do we come back in three weeks? That is something we had talked about. But I think everyone agreed and felt pretty comfortable with accepting the seven weeks. More than anything, the individual this horse is makes him the type that I think can handle that type of a layoff. He's not a horse that appears to need a ton of racing to get fit. He gets a lot out of his training and his workouts.”
Incredibolt is owned by Pin Oak Stud, which also owns World Beater. That operation has played a big role in Mott's early success, something that he has not lost sight of.
First and foremost, they've been paramount in my career,” he said. “Obviously, we're a young stable and we're just now kind of getting our feet underneath us and starting to improve on the quality of the stable and compete in some of those higher-level races. They have been right there from the start, one of my very first clients. The relationship formed when I was working for my dad the last couple of years, working under him as an assistant. That was around the first time that Jim and Dana Bernhard had owned horses and they sent a couple to my dad to train. So we formed a bit of a relationship just through working with my dad. And when I struck out on my own, Mr. and Mrs. Bernhard kind of interviewed me at one of the sales and we had a sit down meeting. It felt very much like a job interview, which it was, and we clicked. They liked me and I really enjoyed their company and they decided to send us some horses. So it's been really fun and rewarding to have the success we've had so far for them. You always remember the people that helped you get your start.”
If things continue on the right path, Incredibolt could go up against Chief Wallabee (Constitution) in the Derby. What would it be like to face his father in the sport's most important race?
“We're not in it for consolation prizes,” Mott said. “We don't want to just have a participation award. We want to go out there and have a horse that can potentially win the race. But, I'd be lying to you if I said it wasn't just a really cool feeling just having one in contention and qualified. Then, on the other hand, to have one against one of my dad's horses would be special. We've run against each other on a bunch of different occasions. We're always pulling for each other, but we're both extremely competitive. I think if we both are fortunate enough to have a couple in the gate, it's kind of every man for himself at that point.”
The “Fastest Horse of the Week” was Built (Hard Spun), who earned a 106 Beyer when winning a Fair Grounds allowance race in which he set a new track record for the six-furlong distance. The Fastest Horse of the Week segment is sponsored by WinStar, which stands the sire Nashville.
Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the PHBA, 1/ST TV, and West Point Thoroughbreds, Randy Moss, Bill Finley, and Zoe Cadman took a look back at the ongoing battle between Churchill Downs Inc. and HISA. The latter threatened to pull the plug on Churchill's simulcasting signal if fees are not paid by next week. All three agreed that some sort of compromise would be worked out to make sure that the Kentucky Derby would be available to out-of-state bettors.
The team also discussed the retirement of trainer Tom Amoss and previewed this week's major races, topped by the GII Louisiana Derby and the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks.
Click here to watch the Writers' Room podcast and here to listen it.
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