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Golden Boy: Wide Draw No Problem for Uncle Mo Colt in BC Juvenile Turf Sprint

Randall Lowe’s speedy homebred Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) overcame the 13 hole and a few awkward strides to kick off the Breeders’ Cup action Friday while providing trainer Wesley Ward with his second consecutive victory in the GII Juvenile Turf Sprint. Looking to avenge his dam Lady Shipman (Midshipman)’s neck second in the 2015 GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint over this same course and distance, the 4-5 favorite blasted out of the gate and cleared off early until Irad Ortiz, Jr. tapped on the brakes and Golden Pal began to toss his head about. The chalk was swamped on both sides by foes approaching the turn, but was given his head again and began to edge clear around the bend. He was a couple lengths clear and seemingly on cruise control heading for home. Far in front after a :44.63 half, his lead diminished in the final furlong, but victory always looked pretty close to certain as the bay struck the wire 3/4 of a length to the good over slow-starting Cowan (Kantharos). British invader Ubettabelieveit (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) completed the trifecta.

“He’s a really nice horse,” Ortiz said. “He did the hard job. I just sat on him waiting for the time to go. He ran great. He really has a lot of potential.”

A close second at 1-2 odds on the Gulfstream dirt back in April behind a subsequently stakes-placed runner, Golden Pal nearly made all the running in Royal Ascot’s G2 Norfolk S., only to be collared on the line by Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf also-ran The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince of Lir {Ire}). He resurfaced in Saratoga’s Skidmore S. Aug. 21, and put it all together to best stablemate Fauci (Malibu Moon) by 3 1/2 lengths while earning a standout 92 Beyer Speed Figure. He was scratched out of the local Indian Summer S. Oct. 4 in favor of training up to the Breeders’ Cup.

“He’s just amazing,” said Wesley Ward, whose win 12 months ago came with Four Wheel Drive (American Pharoah). “I got a little worried on the backside. Irad kind of lost a little momentum there and took a pretty good hold of him, but then he just accelerated down the lane. When he accelerated past the quarter pole, I knew we were OK. I got a little worried on the last part and was hugging onto my son, but we got there. He’s a champion colt. Thank God [Randy Lowe] gave him to me to train. I really appreciate it. [Next year’s Breeders’ Cup] is where we’re heading, but first we’re going to Royal Ascot. Here we come. He’s going to get them [next] year!”

For more on how Ward came to train Golden Pal, listen to the TDN Writer’s Room podcast. Ward was represented by three other runners in the Juvenile Turf: After Five (The Factor), Into the Sunrise (Into Mischief) and Blame the Booze (Blame).

“When he was born, I went into our stall and the mares are very protective when babies are born,” recalled owner/breeder Randy Lowe. “I went in there and stood there and put my hand out and he came right over and put his chin in the palm of my hand and I knew from that point on he was going to be something special.”

For more on Lowe, click here for a Second Chances feature following Golden Pal’s debut second this spring.

Pedigree Notes:
Golden Pal becomes the 39th graded stakes winner for Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie), winner of the 2010 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and an emerging sire of sires. Uncle Mo’s BC Juvenile-winning son Nyquist was represented by GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies heroine Vequist two races later.

Golden Pal is the first foal to race out of brilliant 13-time winner Lady Shipman (Midshipman), who missed by a neck in the 2015 GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. Lady Shipman has not produced a live foal since Golden Pal and was bred back to Omaha Beach for 2021.

Golden Pal is the first and only stakes winner from limited foals thus far out a mare by Midshipman, who took the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile himself in 2008.

Friday, Santa Anita
BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE TURF SPRINT-GII, $920,000, Keeneland, 11-6, 2yo, 5 1/2fT, 1:02.82, gd.
1–GOLDEN PAL, 122, c, 2, by Uncle Mo
                1st Dam: Lady Shipman (GSW & GISP, $902,387),
                                by Midshipman
                2nd Dam: Sumthingtotalkabt, by Mutakddim
                3rd Dam: Nannetta, by Falstaff
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($325,000 RNA Ylg ’19 KEESEP).
O-Ranlo Investments LLC; B-Randall E Lowe (FL); T-Wesley A.
Ward; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $520,000. Lifetime Record: GSP-Eng,
4-2-2-0, $593,056. Werk Nick Rating: A+.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Cowan, 122, c, 2, Kantharos–Tempers Flair, by Smart Strike.
($185,000 Ylg ’19 KEESEP; $385,000 RNA 2yo ’20 OBSMAR).
O-L. William & Corinne Heiligbrodt, Madaket Stables LLC &
Spendthrift Farm LLC; B-Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings, Inc (KY);
T-Steven M. Asmussen. $170,000.
3–Ubettabelieveit (Ire), 122, c, 2, Kodiac (GB)–Ladylishandra
(Ire), by Mujadil. (€35,000 Wlg ’18 GOFNOV; 50,000gns Ylg ’19
TATOCT). O-Martin Webb Racing; B-Ringfort Stud (IRE); T-Nigel
Tinkler. $90,000.
Margins: 3/4, 1, 1 3/4. Odds: 0.80, 11.10, 26.90.
Also Ran: Lipizzaner, After Five, County Final, Momos, Bodenheimer, Dirty Dangle, Windy City Red, Mighty Gurkha (Ire), Second of July, Into the Sunrise, Blame the Booze. Scratched: Amanzi Yimpilo (Ire), Gypsy King, Trade Deal.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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‘Grit And Toughness’ Have Propelled Come Dancing To Breeders’ Cup Swansong

Ending a career by winning a championship is a goal for many athletes, though only a select few have been able to conclude their career with a historic effort.

The ones who do stand out. Joe DiMaggio ending his career after winning his ninth World Series with the Yankees in 1951 is near the top of any going-out-on-top moments. Rocky Marciano capped his career the way he ended every single one of his professional bouts, with the then 32-year-old walking away after posting a 49-0 record and holding the heavyweight championship for nearly four years. Across other sports, from NFL Hall of Famer John Elway winning back-to-back Supers Bowls to NHL superstar Jean Béliveau winning his 10th Stanley Cup and taking off the sweater in 1971, there have been special finales.

On Saturday, Blue Devil Racing Stable's Come Dancing will run the 19th and final race of a storied career that has already featured five graded stakes wins. The Carlos Martin trainee will look to give her connections one final memory when she competes in Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint going seven furlongs on Keeneland Race Course's main track.

The 6-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon has given owner Marc Holliday, and New York racing fans, plenty of thrills, starting with her 7 ¾-length romp in the 2019 Grade 3 Distaff at Aqueduct Racetrack, earning a 114 Beyer Speed Figure. From there, she dominated the Grade 2 Ruffian, winning the one-mile contest over a sloppy track by 6 ¾ lengths in May 2019. Her next start saw her run second to eventual Eclipse Award Champion Older Dirt Female Midnight Bisou in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps on Belmont Stakes Day.

Not to be deterred, Come Dancing then rattled off back-to-back wins in the Grade 1 Ballerina in August 2019 at Saratoga Race Course before winning the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom back at Belmont. She capped her campaign with a sixth-place effort in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita. In this year's edition, she will face divisional contenders Gamine and Serengeti Empress among a formidable nine-horse field.

Martin said she handled the ship well from New York to the Bluegrass State, where she posted a three-furlong blowout in 36 seconds flat over Keeneland's main track on Sunday.

“She seems like she's handling her time at Keeneland and she's enjoying herself. Her coat looks great,” Martin said. “My team has done a great job helping me to get her to this point, so I'm really happy about everything.”

A great career almost was derailed after her winning debut as a juvenile in November 2016 at the Big A. Working toward her potential stakes debut in the Grade 2 Demoiselle she suffered a fractured pastern in her right front leg. Come Dancing did not race again until 13 months later, when she bested allowance company in December 2017 at Aqueduct.

That came as a relief to Holliday, who is a NYRA Board Member and the Chairman and CEO of SL Green Realty Corp, a New York City commercial real estate firm.

“I was fairly optimistic that she would race again,” Holliday said to the Thoroughbred Daily News last year. “The question was would she race up to her potential because we knew she had a ton of potential. She had a brilliant first race. To do what she's done since the injury is a testament to her grit and toughness and her ability to rebound from that injury.”

Come Dancing not only rebounded from that setback, she thrived, and that success continued in her current campaign, which included a second-place effort in the Grade 3 Vagrancy over a Belmont track rated good on Belmont Stakes Day in June and her first win of 2020 last out with a three-quarter-length score in the Grade 2 Honorable Miss Handicap over Lady's Island in the six-furlong sprint at Saratoga on September 6.

The millionaire mare will retire to become a broodmare following Saturday's race, but she has one more chance to compete at the highest level during the Breeders' Cup World Championships. She drew post 3 with jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., who was aboard for the Honorable Miss, back in the irons. She is listed at 8-1 on the morning line with Gamine from post 2 the 7-5 favorite.

“It's bittersweet because it's her last dance, but she's been so good to us, so we just want to see her go off on a high note and show the world what she can do on the biggest stage, so we're excited for the opportunity,” Martin said. “I think the post should be fine. She usually breaks pretty well. With Serengeti and Gamine going out there, she should be able to find a spot. I don't think there's a chance of us going up there with them [as a pacesetter], but I'll let Irad ride the race and hopefully have them set the table for us.

“We have a champion jockey and I think the instructions kind of go out the window in a race like this,” he added.

A victory would give both Martin and Holliday their first respective career wins in a Breeders' Cup. It would also allow Come Dancing to follow in the path of past champions with a sunset ride enmeshed in glory.

The post ‘Grit And Toughness’ Have Propelled Come Dancing To Breeders’ Cup Swansong appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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New Stakes Winner for Into Mischief in Breeders’ Cup Friday Opener

Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) led home a 1-3 finish and became the 81st black-type winner for his sire, establishing a new track record in the opening race of Breeders’ Cup weekend.

Quick Tempo (Tapizar) won the break and set a slick early pace, as Javier Castellano had the favorite settled from a midfield fifth while glued to the inside. Pinching ground on the turn, Highly Motivated popped off the fence and went on the attack three wide off the home corner, grabbed the front-runner at the sixteenth pole and pulled readily clear while shaving 0.06 off the track record previously held by Limousine Liberal (Successful Appeal). Roderick (Into Mischief) raced prominently throughout and kept on gamely for third.

Having nearly overcome an eventful trip to miss by a neck to his stablemate Founder (Upstart) over a muddy Saratoga main track Aug. 29, the Klaravich homebred was exiting a popular 1 3/4-length graduation at Belmont Sept. 27.

Highly Motivated has a weanling half-brother by Flintshire (GB) and his stakes-winning dam was most recently bred to Into Mischief’s son Practical Joke.

NYQUIST S., $125,000, Keeneland, 11-6, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 1:14.99 (NTR), ft.
1–HIGHLY MOTIVATED, 118, c, 2, by Into Mischief
1st Dam: Strong Incentive, by Warrior’s Reward
2nd Dam: G G’s Dolly, by Comic Strip
3rd Dam: Parfait, by Kingmambo
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. ($240,000 Wlg ’18 KEENOV). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Klaravich Stables (KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Javier Castellano. $75,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $124,050.
2–Quick Tempo, 118, c, 2, Tapizar–Sing Dixie Sing, by Dixie Union. ($20,000 Ylg ’19 FTKOCT; $75,000 2yo ’20 OBSAPR). O-Dare To Dream Stable LLC (Michael Faber); B-Albert Bell & Joyce Bell (KY); T-Christopher Davis. $25,000.
3–Roderick, 118, c, 2, Into Mischief–Cayala, by Cherokee Run. ($550,000 Ylg ’19 KEESEP). O-Breeze Easy, LLC; B-Kingswood Farm & David Egan (KY); T-Wesley A. Ward. $12,500.
Margins: 4 1/4, 3/4, 6 3/4. Odds: 2.60, 4.90, 10.00.
Also Ran: Awesome Gerry, Sir Wellington, Saffa’s Day, Upstriker, Assertive Style. Scratched: Twilight Blue.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Attard Hoping To ‘Savor The Moment’ With Rags-To-Riches Breeders’ Cup Contender Starship Jubilee

It didn't take long for trainer Kevin Attard to understand that some folks at Keeneland appreciate Starship Jubilee, his 7-year-old mare with the rags-to-riches story, who will run in Saturday's Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

Twice claimed early in her career, the Florida-bred has developed into a star with Attard. Twelve of her 19 career wins in 38 starts have come in stakes. Two of those victories were in Grade 1 races, including the most recent, the Woodbine Mile against males Sept. 19.

“As soon as she hit the track there were a couple of people out there and they said, 'Hey Starship Jubilee. I'm rooting for you,' “Attard said. “It's nice to hear and you really kind of savor that moment and realize that the following and the backing that she has generated over the years.”

Attard and his partner Soli Mehta claimed Starship Jubilee for $16,000 in February 2017 at Gulfstream. Attard's father, Tino, was the trainer of record when she reeled off three straight wins at Gulfstream in March and April. Moved to Woodbine in suburban Toronto and officially in the care of Kevin Attard, Starship Jubilee promptly won two Grade 2 races, the Nassau and the Dance Smartly. The one-time mediocre turf sprinter thrived in routes on grass.

In 29 races – never at less than a mile – she has compiled a 16-4-3 record in 29 starts and earned $2,052,519. She has won three Sovereign Awards as the top Canadian turf female and is Canada's reigning Horse of the Year.

In November 2018, Attard and Mehta offered the then-5-year-old mare for sale at auction at Keeneland. When bidding stopped at $425,000, below her reserve price, the owners decided to continue racing her. Within a day, though, they completed a sale with Bonnie Baskin's Blue Heaven Farm, a Versailles, Kentucky, commercial breeding farm managed by her son Adam Corndorf.

Attard suggested that Blue Heaven run the mare a few more times before being bred to Medaglia d'Oro in 2019. That mating ended up being put on hold for two seasons as she has won eight of 13 starts and earned more than $1.5 million. This year, Starship Jubilee has won five of six starts, including the Ballston Spa at Saratoga, a race that included champion Sistercharlie. After running fourth in the Diana — her first time off the board since December 2018 — at Saratoga on Aug. 23, she rebounded with the 1-length victory in the Woodbine Mile.

“Huge win, beating the boys in the Woodbine Mile,” Attard said. “It was a pretty gutsy performance on her part. She ran really well. She came out of the race in good shape. She's training great.

“It was a decision to either run against the males here in the Breeders' Cup Mile or in the Filly and Mare Turf at a mile and three-sixteenths against fillies. We elected to take the filly route. The mile and three-sixteenths should be up in her wheel house. She's been going a mile and a quarter. No race is easy, that's for sure.”

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