Riley Mott-trained Street Sense winner Pin Oak’s Incredibolt dominates VaDerby
Colonial Downs press release (Coady Media/Brayden Cook photo above of Riley Mott hoisting Incredibolt’s Virginia Derby trophy)
NEW KENT, VA. (March 14, 2026) — Pin Oak Stud’s Incredibolt proved much the best, winning the $500,000 Virginia Derby by four lengths at Colonial Downs. Trained by Riley Mott, Incredibolt scored 50 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, adding a second Derby prep to his resume and climbing to the top of the leaderboard.
Piloted by Jaime Torres, Incredibolt covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.76.
After a clean break by all 10 rivals, Incredibolt settled behind early leader Lockstocknpharoah, tracking a pace of :23.49 and :47.15 through the opening half-mile. After traveling between horses in the backstretch, Incredibolt found space in the turn, advanced on the leader, and emerged in the stretch full of run but surrounded on all sides. Patiently handled, Incredibolt surged through an opening mid-stretch and bounded clear of the field, finishing strong through the wire.
“He’s really matured and has a lot more confidence now,” Torres said. “That showed today. I felt like I had plenty of horse around the half-mile, and I thought the horses in front were starting to slow down a little. I was just waiting for the right spot. This is a dream come true.”
Grittiness, reserved early, angled four wide approaching the three-sixteenths pole and rallied to finish second, while Confessional advanced four wide and stayed on for third. Buetane, shuffled back on the turn and briefly blocked in the stretch, angled in and finished strongly for fourth, with Lockstocknpharoah leading early but tiring to fifth.
Adding 50 points for a new total of 60, Incredibolt now is tied with Paladin atop the leaderboard. Grittiness earned 25 points for a new total of 36, strengthening his position to 10th. Confessional scored 15 points. Buetane added 10 points for a new total of 16, while Lockstocknpharoah earned 5 points.
Incredibolt paid $14.40, $7.40, and $5.60.
“It was very impressive,” Mott said. “He sat right in the pocket behind a hot pace and was surrounded by horses most of the way. He took Jaime right up into a hole on the rail turning for home and then just blasted off and was pulling away at the end. In his morning workouts and races, he’s always galloped out really well. He’s bred to get distance and he’s shown us he can finish races going long, so we’re optimistic and hopeful we can make it to the first Saturday in May. I’m happy for the horse and our staff, and especially happy for the Pin Oak team and the Bernhard family. We’re missing a very important member today in Mr. Jim Bernhard, but I know he’s looking down on us.”
Incredibolt has already proven himself at Churchill Downs, breaking his maiden under the Twin Spires and earning his first stakes title as a juvenile in the Grade 3 Street Sense Stakes. Sired by Bolt d’Oro out of the mare Sapphire Spitfire, his career record now stands at 5-3-0-0 with a lifetime bankroll of $498,681.
Additional Quotes
Rajiv Maragh, jockey of second-place finisher Grittiness
“Based on that performance, you’d think he can keep improving and appreciate more distance. He settled beautifully, got into a nice rhythm and finished well.”
Julien Leparoux, jockey of third-place finisher Confessional
“He had a very good trip. He sat just off the pace and was very comfortable. I was able to get him out and make a run, and he finished strongly. We just got beat today. I thought it was a very good race for him — better than his last start. He ran his race today, and I think the blinkers helped keep him focused.”
Flavien Prat, jockey of fourth-place finisher Buetane
“He finished pretty well. From where I was, it just didn’t work out the way we wanted. But he made a good run.”
