“We couldn’t be more excited,” Ward said after watching the 4-year-old Uncle Mo colt toy with eight rivals through the 5 1/2 furlongs before winning by 1 1/2 lengths in a stakes-record time of 1:01.39 on firm turf.
Golden Pal shot right to the front as the field left the starting gate and showed the way for jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. through quarter-mile fractions of :21.25, :43.42. It did not appear Ortiz was even asking for his best as Golden Pal scored his eighth win from 12 starts.
“He’s just a fast horse,” Ortiz said.—Bob Kieckhefer