Bold Lad's dam, Barn Pride, was a descendant of the mare Edvina, a member of family 2-e and the ancestor of the 2000 Guineas winner Martial.
[4] He won the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster defeating the previously unbeaten Ribocco, after which Prendergast described him as the best two-year-old he had ever trained, including Windy City.
In the Free Handicap, a ranking of the season's best juveniles, he was rated three pounds clear of runner-up Royal Palace giving him Champion honors in Ireland and England.
He finished unplaced behind Royal Palace and Taj Dewan, having been denied a clear run in the closing stages.
[7] Bold Lad then started favourite for the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury but was beaten three-quarters of a length by the Irish-trained four-year-old Bluerullah.