Golden Pal

After finishing second in his career debut in April at Gulfstream Park on the main track, Golden Pal was sent across the Atlantic for the Royal Ascot meet in England and ran a terrific race to be second in the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes, in which he was headed in the final strides.

He returned to the U.S. for trainer Wesley Ward and stayed on the turf, winning the Skidmore Stakes by 3 ½ lengths in front-running fashion in August at Saratoga Race Course.

Golden Pal was sent off as the odds-on favorite in the Grade 2 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and led from start to finish to win by three-parts of a length in a powerful performance under Irad Ortiz Jr.

Golden Pal made his first start since winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf in the Grade 3 Quick Call Stakes on Saratoga’s opening day of July 15, 2021. Sent off as the odds-on favorite, he jumped to the early lead and was not challenged throughout the 5 ½-furlong turf race, winning by three lengths as Irad Ortiz kept him to task in the stretch.

Golden Pal shipped back to England for his next start, the Group 1 Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes on Aug. 20, he faded to finish seventh. In his return to the United States, he won the Grade 2 Woodford Stakes Presented by TVG at Keeneland on Oct. 9. He stayed in top form with a dominant gate-to-wire win in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 6. He broke on top and ran the rest of the field off their feet. His time of 54.75 seconds for five furlongs equaled the track record.

Returning from a six-month layoff in the Grade 2 Shakertown Stakes April 9 at Keeneland, Golden Pal looked like he had not missed a beat as he set a blistering pace through an opening quarter-mile in 20.94 seconds and overwhelmed the opposition in a runaway victory under Irad Ortiz Jr. He completed the 5 1/2 furlongs on turf rated as good in 1:02.21.

That win set Golden Pal for a third trip back to England, where he competed in the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes on the June 14 opening day at Royal Ascot. Unfortunately, Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., riding at Ascot for the first time and on his first mount of the meet, was distracted by a horse acting up behind the starting gate and did not urge Golden Pal out to his usual blazing fast start. He reached contention midway through the five-furlong sprint but then started to tire, and Ortiz eased Golden Pal to a last-place finish in the field of 16.

Golden Pal made his next start back at Saratoga, where he had won both of his prior starts. He went off as the odds-on favorite in the Grade 3 Troy Stakes on Aug. 5, and patiently stalked the pace in third through the turn of the 5 ½-furlong turf sprint before moving up to enagage the leader, Irish-bred stakes winner True Valour, at the top of the stretch. That foe responded gamely to pressure, and Irad Ortiz Jr. had to dig deep and ask Golden Pal for everything he had in the stretch to win by a head.

Returning back to Keeneland where he had never been defeated for a bid for a repeat win in the Woodford Stakes Presented by FanDuel, Golden Pal opened a clear early lead and coasted to a 1 1/2-length win in stakes-record time of 1:01.39 for the 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf course. He figures to be an overwhelming favorite to also repeat in the Turf Sprint on a course that he has won four times in as many starts.

Golden Pal was sent off as the 6-5 favorite in a 14-horse field in the Grade 1 $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint but got off to a poor start in the big field, was not able to show his trademark speed, and lost his best chance as a result. He finished 10th.

Golden Pal’s dam (mother) is graded stakes winner Lady Shipman, a winner of 13 of 21 career races, including 11 stakes wins, and the runner-up in the 2015 TwinSpires.com Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.