Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint | Horse Racing Free Tips

Golden Pal Out Of Gate Like A Rocket, Runs Away With Turf Sprint

Many top trainers know that the break is everything in a sprint race, and Golden Pal provided a textbook example in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, taking the lead and never looking back for conditioner Wesley Ward.

Golden Pal and Irad Ortiz Jr. rocketed out of the third starting gate so quickly, television commentators watched the replay to verify his gate had indeed not opened before his competitors'. After a sharp break, Golden Pal kept clear of the rest of the field throughout the five-furlong race and drew away by 1 1/4 lengths from a valiant closing effort by Lieutenant Dan in the stretch. Lieutenant Dan and Frankie Dettori had given chase to the blistering early pace of :21.71 and :43.34. The final time was :54.75, equalling a course record set by Fast Parade on Aug. 16, 2006.

Golden Pal was the 5-2 favorite in the race, and paid $7.00, $4.60, and $3.60. Lieutenant Dan settled for second, while Charmaine's Mia was third.

Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith, et al own the 3-year-old son of Uncle Mo, who was bred in Florida by Randall E. Lowe. Golden Pal is out of Midshipman mare Lady Shipman. He was an RNA at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $325,000, where he was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency.

Golden Pal was the winner of last year's G2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and came to this race off a win in the G2 Woodford on Oct. 9 at Keeneland. He also picked up a win in the G3 Quick Call.

Golden Pal's connections confirmed to media he will likely stay in training next year, with 2022 goals to be determined.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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Uncle Mo’s Golden Pal Speeds to Second BC Win in Turf Sprint

Breaking like shot out of a cannon, Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) marked his return to Breeders' Cup competition following a win in 2020 to double up with a score in Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. Sent off what seemed to be a bit of an overlay, the 5-2 favorite was sure-footed at the start, streaking to the front and cutting out a brisk quarter in :21.71. With Lieutenant Dan (Grazen) in hot pursuit through an equally fast half in :43.34, last year's GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner turned for home about a length ahead of the GII Eddie D. S. scorer, kicked on all boosters in the stretch, and despite Lieutenant Dan's best intentions late, the Wesley Ward trainee was not for catching, crossing the wire 1 1/2 lengths ahead. Charmaine's Mia rounded out the trifecta. Last season's defending champion Glass Slippers (GB) (Dream Ahead) never got into the mix of things, finishing eighth.

“I was happy to get the lead easily and he responded when I asked him for run down the stretch,” said winning rider Irad Ortiz Jr. “I was confident coming for home and he still felt very strong. He was ready today.”

The victory is the second of the weekend for Ward and Ortiz Jr., who teamed up to win Friday's GII Juvenile Turf Sprint with Twilight Gleaming (Ire). It is the sixth Breeders' Cup victory for Ward and 13th for Ortiz, but first for both in the Turf Sprint.

“He's got the title–he's the best horse [I've ever trained], affirmed Ward. “Bruce Headley, a great trainer, once told me when he had [Sprint Champion] Kona Gold, 'stay in there long enough and you'll get one as good as this.' I hope everyone in horse racing has a horse like this, as special as he is. He's just fast. He's mature and he has so much upstairs, as well. He has so much natural ability. What a horse.”

Added Steven Miyadi, trainer of runner-up Lieutenant Dan, “He wasn't ready to run against a rocket ship. He ran great, probably the best race of his life.”

A runner-up finish in last year's G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot proved but a taste of what was still to come for the Coolmore partners-owned runner, who rounded out his 2-year-old campaign with wins in Saratoga's Skidmore S. followed by a narrow victory on Breeders' Cup day at Keeneland. Given time off following a minor setback earlier this season, Golden Pal returned a winner in the GIII Quick Call S. at the Spa July 15 but didn't show his best when seventh in the G1 Nunthorpe S. at York Aug. 20. Freshened after that, the Florida bred went wire-to-wire last time out in the 5 1/2-furlong GII Woodford S. at Keeneland Oct. 9.

Pedigree Notes:
Golden Pal was certainly bred to be a good one, becoming the 10th Grade I/Group 1 winner for Coolmore's Uncle Mo. His illustrious dam, 'TDN Rising Star' Lady Shipman, who missed by a neck in the 2015 GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint–was also bred by the colt's breeder, Randy Lowe. The graded-winning mare produced an Omaha Beach colt Mar. 24 and is back in foal to Uncle Mo. A Violence half-brother to Lady Shipman RNA'd for $170,000 at Fasig-Tipton July. For more on Lowe and Golden Pal, click here for a Second Chances column.

Saturday, Del Mar
BREEDERS' CUP TURF SPRINT-GI, $920,000, Del Mar, 11-6, 3yo/up, 5fT, :55.22, fm.
1–GOLDEN PAL, 124, c, 3, by Uncle Mo
1st Dam: Lady Shipman (GSW-Can, MSW & GISP-USA, $902,387), by Midshipman
2nd Dam: Sumthingtotalkabt, by Mutakddim
3rd Dam: Nannetta, by Falstaff
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($325,000 RNA Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Magnier,
Mrs. John, Tabor, Michael B., Smith, Derrick and Westerberg;
B-Randall E Lowe (FL); T-Wesley A. Ward; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr.
$520,000. Lifetime Record: 8-5-2-0, $1,299,056. Werk Nick
Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Lieutenant Dan, 126, g, 5, Grazen–Excusabull, by Indian
Charlie. O/B-Nick Alexander (CA); T-Steven Miyadi. $170,000.
3–Charmaine's Mia, 123, m, 5, The Factor–Charming Vixen, by
Bernstein. ($40,000 RNA Wlg '16 KEENOV; $4,000 Ylg '17
KEESEP). O-Agave Racing Stable, Medallion Racing and Rockin
Robin Racing Stables; B-Gunpowder Farms LLC (KY); T-Philip
D'Amato. $90,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 3HF, NK. Odds: 2.50, 4.60, 28.10.
Also Ran: Emaraaty Ana (GB), A Case of You (Ire), Gear Jockey, Kimari, Glass Slippers (GB), Extravagant Kid, Chaos Theory, Fast Boat, Caravel. Scratched: Arrest Me Red, Beer Can Man, Bombard, Commander (Fr), Hollywood Talent, The Critical Way.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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‘We’ve Found His Game’: Gear Jockey Comes Into Turf Sprint Off Career Best

It took a few races — OK, 12 — to figure out what Calumet Farm's 4-year-old colt Gear Jockey really wanted to do. But the wait and perseverance paid off this summer and fall, with Kentucky Downs' $1 million FanDuel Turf Sprint winner a leading contender for Saturday's $1 million, Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar.

A year ago, when the Breeders' Cup was at trainer Rusty Arnold's hometown track of Keeneland, Gear Jockey was awaiting his first victory. That didn't come until this past January in the colt's first start as a 4-year-old.

Even though he started off 0 for 8, Gear Jockey has uncorked only two truly bad races, the first being his debut at six furlongs on dirt at Saratoga by almost 23 lengths. Stretched out to a mile on grass, the winless colt still ran very well, including finishing a close third at 67-1 odds in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita in 2019.

In fact, his tantalizing talent was such that Gear Jockey made a fleeting appearance on last year's Kentucky Derby trail. That ended in his second poor race in Gulfstream Park's Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, his last race on dirt. He subsequently was sidelined for six months with a repairable leg fracture.

Back on grass, Gear Jockey won maiden and allowance races and came very close to winning a graded turf stakes. Still, Arnold thought there was more the horse could do.

“We sat down and said, 'Let's sprint the horse. He's just not finishing off, and he shows a lot of talent,'” Arnold said. “We've sprinted him three times on turf, and I think we've found his game.”

Gear Jockey earned a second-level allowance victory, was a rallying third after breaking slowly in Saratoga's Grade 3 Troy and then captured the Grade 3, six-furlong FanDuel Turf Sprint. That victory not only proved worth $576,600 to Calumet Farm but with the added perk of giving Gear Jockey a fees-paid berth in the five-furlong Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint as part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series' Win And You're In program.

Gear Jockey needed to win the FanDuel Turf Sprint to even make the Breeders' Cup. That was no small feat as Gear Jockey was the last horse to get into the overflow Kentucky Downs' race. If he lucked into the race, he made his own luck coming out with an authoritative 2 1/2-length victory over the well-regarded Diamond Oops.

“It was by far his best race,” Arnold said. “He did everything right…. (But) if one more horse had entered, we'd have been out. I can't tell you how big it was.”

The five-furlong Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint also includes third-place Bombard and Fast Boat, who beat Gear Jockey in the Troy Stakes. Sixth-place Got Stormy, who won the 2020 Ladies Sprint at Kentucky Downs, is going in the $2 million Mile on turf.

“I don't think the Breeders' Cup can be much tougher than that race,” Arnold said. “… I'm confident my horse is going to show up. It's a little shorter than I'd like, but we're hoping we've got him sharp enough.”

The Kentucky Downs victory provided a special thrill for Calumet Farm owner Brad Kelley, who grew up in Bowling Green and Franklin, Ky., started his path to billionaire status back in Bowling Green and now lives in Franklin, Tenn. Kelley also is a previous owner of Kentucky Downs, and Gear Jockey won with Calumet Farm the racing card's day sponsor.

“It was nice to win a big race for him close to his home,” Arnold said.

A third-generation horseman, Arnold is tied for No. 2 with Bill Mott in all-time victories at Keeneland at 288, trailing only D. Wayne Lukas' 296.

Arnold also is one of the most successful trainers to never have won a Breeders' Cup race. Kelley won the short-lived Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint in 2012 with Hightail racing the name of Kelley's old Bluegrass Hall. But Calumet Farm has never won a Breeders' Cup race.

“Disappointing is the wrong word,” Arnold said of himself being 0 for 14 in the Breeders' Cup. “But it's on your bucket list. You don't want to be one of the guys who has won the most graded races without winning the Breeders' Cup.

“I'd like to win for any of my owners. I want to win one for Calumet; I'd like to win one for myself. I'm a little bit jealous on that.”

Calumet also has its homebred Lexitonian in the $2 million Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint. The 5-year-old horse, trained by the farm's private trainer Jack Sisterson, won Saratoga's Grade 1 Vanderbilt. Detroit City is on the also-eligible for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf and needs two scratches to run.

“If he shows up on his best effort, he'll be right there,” Sisterson said of Lexitonian, who finished second by a nose in last year's Grade 1 Bing Crosby at Del Mar. “It's great the support and the passion that Mr. Kelley has for this sport. Although he doesn't come, he watches every race. People don't know how emotional he gets after a big win.”

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‘Rags To Riches’ A Case Of You Primed For Turf Sprint

Del Mar, CA–The celebration from trainer Ado McGuinness, his family and stable team reverberated far and wide across ParisLongchamp-and, quite possibly, beyond–on Oct. 3 when Gary Devlin's A Case Of You (Ire) (Hot Streak {Ire}) hit the line a short-head winner of the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye. And rightfully: after 21 years training racehorses, McGuinness had won his first Group 1.

“To win your first Group 1 and to win it on one of the biggest days in Europe was very special for everybody involved,” McGuinness said. “[Jockey] Ronan [Whelan] has been riding for me for a long time and to get a Group 1 like that, it was just so special. We can get very vocal sometimes and that's just the way we are no matter what type of winner we have. It was a very special day and something you'll remember for the rest of your life. Words can't really describe what it was like that day. I know what it's like now and hopefully I can experience it again.”

McGuinness could get that chance again on Saturday when he saddles A Case Of You in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. Having arrived in Del Mar on Monday evening, McGuinness was trackside on Tuesday morning to supervise his stable star as the 3-year-old went through an easy canter over the dirt course.

“The horse traveled over very well,” McGuinness said. “He had two days in quarantine and he was very fresh [on Monday] morning and he had a go with his rider, but he had a nice canter this morning and he was more laid back. We're really happy that we have a really good draw and hopefully he'll run a nice race for us.”

That draw is six of 12, which McGuinness said gives Whelan options with A Case Of You.

“I think the six is good for him because he might not have the tactical speed really early, so they can jump and go forward and he can just sit right in behind them,” he explained. “I think it's an ideal draw for him that will leave us with two options, so we're very happy. We're a little concerned because it's a round track and it's tight, but he's handled Dundalk, our all-weather surface at home, and it's round so hopefully he'll put up a bold show.”

A Case Of You has been on an upward trend since joining McGuinness last winter, and he is the type of horse that keeps the smaller operator dreaming. Bought for 950gns as a foal by trainer John McConnell, A Case Of You failed to find a new home at the Goffs Sportsmans yearling sale of 2019, and was led out unsold at €3,000. When McConnell sent A Case Of You to the races in his own colours, it became immediately apparent that the horse had been far undervalued. Third first out at Bellewstown last August going a mile over heavy ground, A Case Of You promptly graduated next out when dropped down to seven furlongs at Down Royal before posting a minor upset when coming home the 6-1 winner of The Curragh's G3 Anglesey S. A Case Of You was then due to be sold to Hong Kong, but when that deal fell through, McGuinness swooped.

“We were looking for a horse at the end of the year and this horse was to be sold to Hong Kong, but the deal fell through so we went looking for him,” the trainer recalled. “We brokered the deal for him just before Christmas. It was a long time trying to get him and it was probably the most money I've ever paid for a horse, yet he wasn't expensive; compared to what he has done today, he was a very cheap horse. I think it's onwards and upwards. the horse is just thriving and he's a rags to riches type of horse. He's very talented and it's a privilege to have him.”

A Case Of You's first outing for McGuinness was a win in a Dundalk conditions race going six furlongs, and he trailed home last of 12 when hanging badly in the seven-furlong Listed 2000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown three weeks later. Dropping back to six, A Case Of You and Whelan took the G3 Lacken S. at Naas, but beat just four home in the G1 Commonwealth Cup, having lost a shoe in running over the heavy ground. After he finished third in the G3 Phoenix Sprint S. again over six furlongs on Aug. 8, McGuinness dropped A Case Of You back to five furlongs for the first time, a move which has transformed the horse. After coming from well out of it to finish second in the G1 Flying Five S. at The Curragh on Sept. 12, A Case Of You made a similar move at ParisLongchamp, sprinting away from the eventual third-placed Glass Slippers (GB) (Dream Ahead) to cut down the lead of Air De Valse (Fr) (Mesnil Des Aigles {Fr}) and hit the line a short head in front. A Case Of You re-opposes the defending Turf Sprint winner Glass Slippers, who he has had behind him his last two outings, at Del Mar.

“The Irish handicapper was sort of knocking him a bit on his two runs, but his first two ever runs over five furlongs were a second in a Group 1 and a win in a Group 1, so you can't get much better than that,” McGuinness said. “If Ronan had ridden him at The Curragh again he might have won the first Group 1 as well, because we were giving him a bit of time. We're learning about him every day, he's still a 3-year-old. It was a hell of a performance and a hell of a ride from Ronan on both days, and I think the second day was a fantastic ride because a lot of people would have given up when the French horse had gone so far clear, but Ronan knew the horse and knew what he could get out of him. It was a world-class ride.”

Today, McGuinness has just shy of 50 horses in his care, and he said the purchase of A Case Of You was part of a plan to focus on upgrading the quality of his stock.

“I'm training 21 years, and the last four or five years we've really upped the ante with regards to trying to buy a better horse,” he explained. “We've won a lot of big sprint handicaps in Ireland and we had our first group race winner last year and we've won two Group 3s since. My cousin Stephen Thorne works for me, he's a Darley Flying Start graduate, and we do a lot of work at the sales and sourcing nice horses in training. We've been lucky with a few yearlings as well that we've bought and we're trying to get more into the yearling market to try to get better owners in. It's not easy in Ireland because it's probably one of the most competitive places in the world to try and train young horses.

“We've definitely upped the ante on our stable the last few years. At the Galway Racing Festival we've won three of the big flat races in the last three years, and it gives us great advertising to try to get more owners into the yard. It's all about getting a better horse into the yard, and we've proved we can train them if we get good horses, so that's what it's all about.”

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