Bolt D'Oro to sit out shuttle trip to Spendthrift Australia this year

Champion American two-year-old Bolt D’Oro will not shuttle to Spendthrift Australia this year.

The five-year-old son of Medaglia D'Oro served both his first northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere books last year, with 104 mares covered in Australia at a debut fee of A$13,750.

However, Spendthrift Australia’s general manager Garry Cuddy announced on social media on Friday that Bolt D’Oro would not return to the farm in Victoria this year.

“We are disappointed to announce that Bolt D’Oro will not shuttle to Australia in 2020 due to him not handling the shuttle process last season,” he wrote. “Our decision has been made with the welfare of the horse in mind.”

The Racing Post revealed in March that Bolt D'Oro, winner of the Del Mar Futurity and FrontRunner Stakes at two in 2017, had been taken out of service at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky for two days early in this year's breeding session after becoming too aggressive for handlers to manage.

The operation's general manager Ned Toffey reported that the stallion had responded positively to changes suggested by an equine behaviourist and was back to performing well in the covering shed.

He served 214 mares in his first book at Spendthrift in Kentucky in 2019, and has commanded a fee of $25,000 in his second season.

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