In 2024, the Street Sense Stakes unveiled a future superstar: Sovereignty, winner of this year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets.
The Road to the 2026 Kentucky Derby Rankings
When the Churchill Downs starting gate opened on Oct. 26 for this year’s Street Sense, Pin Oak Stud’s Incredibolt took a few cues from Sovereignty’s playbook and positioned himself as a contender on the 2026 Kentucky Derby route.
“With a horse like him, you look forward to the first Saturday in May,” said Michael Hardy, Pin Oak’s director of operations. “To make that commitment win today, to do it here at Churchill, hopefully we can follow the path of sovereignty next year.”
With his head turned as the starting gate opened, Incredibolt broke slowly and, like Sovereignty, found himself last in the early stages of the 1 1/16-mile race. The pace for him was slower than last year’s race – Ganaas posted quarter-mile fractions of :24.29, :48.83, 1:13.40 – but that didn’t hinder Incredibolt’s impressive foot movement down the stretch. Incredibolt took the lead on the sixteenth pole and won by 1 3/4 lengths in 1:44.67; Pay $10.18 to win.
The Kenny McPeek-trained duo of Universe and Very Connected completed the trifecta.
“It takes a little bit – his stride – to get going,” said winning jockey Jaime Torres. “At the back I had a lot of confidence in him. He traveled beautifully. I asked him a few times to see how much horse I needed to know where to go. Every time I tried to feel how much horse I had, he was there the whole time. I took it easy with him and tried to run from three-eighths. [pole].”
Torres has had complete confidence in Bolt d’Oro’s colt since he first sat on his back the morning before his debut, ironically earning him the nickname ‘Little Sovereignty’.
“The first time I met him in the morning, I told my agent [Liz Morris]“I think that’s the next sovereignty there,” Torres said. ‘We kept working on him in the morning. Each time he felt better and better and better.
The colt debuted with a fourth-place finish at Ellis Park in August over six furlongs before stretching to a one-turn mile at Churchill Downs for a two-length win on September 28. Torres said longer will be better for a colt trained by Riley Mott, son of Sovereignty’s Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.
With his victory, Incredibolt is one step closer to pursuing sovereignty. He earned 10 qualifying points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, with the top five finishers receiving points on a scale of 10-5-3-2-1.
Bred in Kentucky by Deann and Greg Baer, Incredibolt was a $75,000 purchase at Keeneland’s September 2024 yearling sale.
“He always looked like a racehorse,” Hardy said. “Just a lean, good-looking horse with two turns that day. That’s what attracted us to him. We love the sire, we think he’s a sire on his way to the top. We hope Incredibolt can carry that flag.”
Bolt d’Oro will be at Spendthrift Farm for the 2026 season for a fee of $25,000. Incredibolt is out of the winning Awesome Again mare Sapphire Spitfire.
#Late #burst #propels #Incredibolt #victory #Street #Sense #Stakes