While Olympiad has enjoyed an outstanding 2022 season, the only thing missing from his resume was a Grade 1 victory. The 4-year-old son of Speightstown changed that in a big way on Saturday, Sept. 3, with an impressive win in the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Saratoga. The victory earned Olympiad a berth in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Keeneland in November.
Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott and owned by Grandview Equine, LNJ Foxwoods, and Cheyenne Stables, Olympiad raced in second position early in the 1 ¼-mile fixture, tracking the pace of Tax. Olympiad matched strides with the pacesetter around the far turn and grabbed the lead at the head of the lane. He had plenty in reserve to fend off a late challenge from Americanrevolution in the stretch and he scored by two lengths in the end. Olympiad stopped the clock in 2:02.11 for the 10 furlongs. Prior to the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Olympiad won the Mineshaft Stakes (G3), the New Orleans Classic Stakes (G2), and the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2), and finished fourth behind Life Is Good in the Whitney (G1) in his previous start.
“It’s gratifying to see him come back,” said Mott. “The (performance) the other day was almost too bad to be true considering the form he had been in the previous five races. It was just good to see him bounce back. He’s a Grade 1 winner, he’s won six out of seven races this year and he’s got a pretty good record for himself.”
Winning rider Junior Alvarado, who has been aboard Olympiad in all of his 2022 outings, said of the Grade 1 score, “He ran today like I always thought he could, and it was unbelievable. I’m so happy today he redeemed himself. He showed up. He’s the horse we always thought and we’re going with a win into the Breeders’ Cup.”
Bred in Kentucky by Emory Hamilton and a $700,000 purchase by Solis-Litt Bloodstock at the 2019 Keeneland September Sale, Olympiad is produced from the graded stakes-placed Medaglia d’Oro mare Tokyo Time. With the $535,000 winner’s share of the purse, Olympiad boosted his lifetime bankroll to more than $2 million. His overall record stands at 12-8-1-1.