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Golden Pal Heads Keeneland’s Woodford

Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Westerberg's speedy sophomore Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) will face off with 8-year-old Group 1 winning Extravagant Kid in Saturday's 5 1/2-furlong GII Woodford S. at Keeneland. A close-up second in last season's G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot, Golden Pal subsequently reeled off three consecutive stakes wins, including the GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint over this turf course last November followed by a confident victory in Saratoga's Quick Call S. July 15. Trained by Wesley Ward, Golden Pal finished seventh in the G1 Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe at York in England Aug. 20 in his latest start. The Florida bred exits post two and be ridden by John Velazquez.

DARRS Inc.'s Extravagant Kid, winner of the six-furlong G1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan in March, will be making his first Keeneland start since finishing fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint last November. Following his win in Dubai, the gelding finished third in the June 15 G1 King's Stand S. at the royal meeting before posting an uncharacteristically poor 14th in the G1 July Cup at Newmarket July 10.

Bob LaPenta and Harlow Stables' Firecrow (Maclean's Music) looks to mark his return to the winner's circle following a fourth last out in Parx's five-panel GIII Turf Monster S. Sept. 25. Prior to that effort, the gelding came home the narrow victor in Pimlico's Jim McKay Turf Sprint S. at five furlongs May 15. Tyler Gaffalione enters the fray to ride.

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Ward-Trained 3-Year-Old Golden Pal Faces Veteran Extravagant Kid In Saturday’s Woodford

The youngster, 3-year-old Golden Pal, and the veteran, 8-year-old Extravagant Kid, top a field of seven entered Wednesday for Saturday's 25th running of the $200,000 Woodford (G2) Presented by TVG going 5½ furlongs over the Keeneland turf course.

The Woodford Presented by TVG is the first of five graded stakes on Saturday's 11-race program and will go as the sixth race with a 3:40 p.m. post time. First post Saturday is 1 p.m.

Ranlo Investments' Golden Pal will be making his first Keeneland start since winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2) here to kick off the World Championships program. Trained by Wesley Ward, Golden Pal finished seventh in the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe (G1) at York in England in August in his most recent start.

Golden Pal will exit post two and be ridden by John Velazquez.

DARRS Inc.'s Extravagant Kid, earner of more than $1.6 million and winner of the Al Quoz Sprint Sponsored by Azizi Developments (G1) in Dubai in March, will be making his first Keeneland start since finishing fourth in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1) last November. Prior to that, he finished second in the Woodford Presented by TVG.

Trained by Brendan Walsh, Extravagant Kid drew post position six and will be ridden by Jose Ortiz.

The field for the Woodford Presented by TVG, with riders and weights from the inside, is:

Johnny Unleashed (Gerardo Corrales, 120 pounds)
Golden Pal (Velasquez, 118)
Inhalation (GB) (Adam Beschizza, 120)
Firecrow (Tyler Gaffalione, 120)
Charcoal (Corey Lanerie, 120)
Extravagant Kid (Ortiz, 124)
County Final (Ricardo Santana Jr., 118)

The post Ward-Trained 3-Year-Old Golden Pal Faces Veteran Extravagant Kid In Saturday’s Woodford appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Breeders’ Cup Hopefuls Breeze in Kentucky

A quartet of horses headed towards engagements at the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar Nov. 6 were out for serious workouts Saturday morning at both major Kentucky venues.

Champion Essential Quality (Tapit) worked five furlongs in the company of Ellis Park allowance winner Colonel Bowman (Curlin) just after the track opened for business shortly after 5:30 Saturday morning. The duo broke off at the half-mile pole, crossing the wire in :46.80 before completing the move around the clubhouse turn in :59.20. Essential Quality outgamed Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) to take out the GI Runhappy Travers S. in his most recent start and is being trained up to the Classic, for which he figures no worse than the second choice.

“Essential is the type of horse that just keeps finding more in every race,” trainer Brad Cox said. “I thought his race in the Travers was a tremendous effort to run down [Midnight Bourbon]. He's a really nice horse in his own right.

He continued, “The distance in the Classic is not going to be an issue for him. He'll be fit and ready. There wasn't a race in between the Travers and the Classic that made a lot of sense for him to run in. We gave him two easy half-mile works prior to [Saturday] and we'll keep tightening the screws each week.”

The Cox-conditioned Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) turned in an easy half-mile in :50.40 Saturday morning, her first move since winning the GIII Locust Grove S. Sept. 17.

Bell's The One (Majesticperfection), a latest second to Sconsin (Include) in the Sept. 17 Open Mind S., also returned to the tab Saturday morning for trainer Neil Pessin. The 5-year-old, who will look to improve on her third-place effort to Gamine (Into Mischief) in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, went in the company of recent allowance runner-up Audrey's Time (Uncle Mo) and covered a half-mile in :48 (14/131), breaking off five lengths behind her stablemate before joining her on the wire.

Across Interstate 64 at Keeneland Saturday morning, pro-tem divisional leader Letruska (Super Saver) tuned up for the Oct. 10 GI Juddmonte Spinster S. by working five-eighths of a mile in :59 over a fast main track. She was clocked in splits of :22.60, :35.40 and :46.80 before energetically galloping out six furlongs in 1:11.

Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), winner of the 2020 GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, worked five furlongs in 1:01 over the firm turf course in preparation for next Saturday's GII Woodford S. His workmate was the fleet 2-year-old filly Averly Jane (Midshipman), who is ticketed for the Oct. 10 Listed Indian Summer S. en route to a possible appearance in the Juvenile Turf Sprint.

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After Overseas Disappointment, Ward-Trained Golden Pal Targeting Breeders’ Cup Return

Winner of last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and heralded by trainer Wesley Ward as one of the best he's ever trained, Golden Pal was disappointing last out when seventh in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York.

Ward told At The Races that the race may have come up too quickly for the 3-year-old son of Uncle Mo; the Nunthorpe on Aug. 20 came a little over a month after Golden Pal's winning 2021 debut in the G3 Quick Call Stakes at Saratoga on July 15.

“Every trainer is different, but historically for me, when I bring a horse back from a long lay-off and they run a big race like he did at Saratoga, they need a little bit more time before they run again,” Ward told ATR. “Every horse is different and this horse trained beautiful going into it and came out of the race beautiful, so I think it was just a question of it kind of zapped him from the inside, that first big race he had (at Saratoga).”

Now, Golden Pal will be aimed at a return to the Breeders' Cup World Championships, to be held this November at Del Mar. Ward has yet to decide whether the Coolmore-owned colt will have a prep race prior to this year's Turf Sprint, but if he does, it could come at his home track: Keeneland's G2 Woodford Stakes on Oct. 9 is the most likely option.