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“He’s Here and He’s Ready;” Golden Pal Restarts Final Campaign in Friday’s Troy

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Trainer Wesley Ward turned to football to explain why Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) has turned out to be what he has said is the best horse he has handled during his 32-year career.

“Look at all the special running backs in history,” Ward said. “What makes them so special? They are naturally blessed with talent is what it comes down to. They are extremely fast and a lot of them have the mind for it as well. He's got both.”

Nearly two months after a disappointing appearance as the favorite in the G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot in June, Golden Pal returns to competition Friday in the GIII Troy S. presented by Horse Racing Ireland at Saratoga Race Course. He drew post five in the field of seven going 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf.

Golden Pal is two for two at Saratoga and has won six straight–all in stakes company–in the U.S. since dropping his maiden debut in April, 2020. Overall, he has won six of 10 starts and earned $1.4 million, second in the Ward stable career standings to Judy the Beauty (Ghostzapper).

“He's certainly extremely accomplished here, having won two Breeders' Cups and is shooting for his third,” Ward said. “The only thing he's lacking is over there. He hasn't really come through for me going overseas.”

In his second start as a 2-year-old, Golden Pal was second by a neck to The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince of Lir {Ire}) in the G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot. Last summer at York, he was seventh in the G1 Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe S. On June 14 in the King's Stand, he got away slowly under Irad Ortiz, Jr., who had his head turned looking at a horse acting up behind the gate, was rushed up, weakened and was eased.

“This year I was just devastated with what happened at the break,” Ward said.

Golden Pal is the first foal out of Lady Shipman (Midshipman), who won 11 stakes during her distinguished career for Randall Lowe. During the height of her career, Lowe said he turned down a high offer of $3.5 million to sell Lady Shipman. He bred Golden Pal and when he failed to reach his reserve price at auction as a yearling, raced him as a 2-year-old. Following Golden Pal's victory in the GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, Lowe sold him to the Coolmore partnership of Mr. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Westerberg Ltd., which kept him with Ward. The bay completed his 2021 campaign for his new owners with a 1 1/4-length score in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar.

Clearly, Golden Pal has become a Ward favorite.

“He's just such a joy to be around,” Ward said. “Every horse has a different personality, as people do. And this guy has just got a wonderful personality. He's always positive. He'd be a positive person if was a human. He's just a real cool guy to be around.”

Ward has been very careful with Golden Pal, balancing training with a light racing schedule throughout his career. He ran four times as a 2-year-old, another four times last year and will have four, possibly five, starts in this–his final–season on the track. Ward was especially enthusiastic about the way the colt performed in his debut this season, winning the GII Shakertown S. at Keeneland by 4 3/4 lengths Apr. 9.

Running away with the Shakertown in April | Coady

“It was a big race the spring,” Ward said. “He was only coming off a Breeders' Cup to Keeneland. We had to train him with the weather at Keeneland and take him up to Turfway and breeze him. He certainly wouldn't have been 100% going into the race fitness-wise, because we had to contend with the weather, but he just came on with just a powerful race. I was so looking forward to going over to Ascot with him as he just trained well from that point forward.”

Golden Pal has had three breezes at Saratoga, two of them bullets, over the Oklahoma turf training track since July 15.

“We've had ample spacing and he's here and he's ready,” Ward said.

In his two previous starts at Saratoga, Golden Pal was an easy and impressive winner. He broke his maiden by 3 1/2 lengths in the 2020 Skidmore S. when a return trip to Europe was scuttled due to weather. In 2021, he wowed the crowd on opening day with a 3-length victory in hand in the GIII Quick Call S.

From Saratoga, Golden Pal will return to Ward's home base at Keeneland to prepare for the Breeders' Cup. The prep in Kentucky could be an experiment, a surface change.

“We may go to the (GII Stoll Keenon Ogden) Phoenix, which is on the dirt, for stallion value,” Ward said. “We'll see if he can do it. There's no reason why he can't. In another trainer's barn he probably would have been a dirt horse, but he had a lot of physical issues along the way that kept me from running him on the dirt just to keep him sound.”

Golden Pal's only dirt start was in his first career race at Gulfstream Park.

While the Breeders' Cup is the career-ending target, Ward said one more race might be in the offing.

“It may or may not culminate in Australia,” Ward said. “It all depends on how we finish out the year, but Coolmore has expressed an interest in showcasing him for the breeders in Australia in the Southern Hemisphere.”

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With Legalization of Sports Wagering, Renewed Hope That Racing Will Return to Massachusetts

A compromise agreement on a bill authorizing sports betting in Massachusetts was reached Monday, which could be the final piece of the puzzle when it comes to horse racing returning to the Bay State. Behind the scenes, a group of investors has been working to open a new track in the state ever since Suffolk Downs closed its doors in 2019, but understood that their plans would not be practical without there being a source of revenue beyond what can be made off of selling bets. With sports betting about to become a reality in the state and with the bill granting sports betting licenses to anyone operating a racetrack, the group is prepared to move forward and plans to apply to the Massachusetts Racing Commission for a racing license some time this fall.

“When it comes to the project, sports betting has been the catalyst all along because there has to be some sort or of revenue source,” said Lou Raffetto, the former vice president of racing at Suffolk Downs who is advising the group, which calls itself Commonwealth Racing. “We all understand it's not going to come from just racing itself. They are very serious about this and the intent will be that by October we need to apply for a racing license.”

Suffolk Downs' days were numbered in 2014 when the track lost out on a bid to get a casino license. It remained open over the next five years, running short meets that were a requirement to retain its simulcast license. In 2017, the property was sold to HYM Investment Group, which is in the process of converting the land into a mixed-use neighborhood that will include 10,000 housing units.

Without any realistic hope that a Massachusetts Thoroughbred track could cash in on a casino, the sport appeared to be dead in the state, where racing dates back to 1935 when Suffolk first ran. But the principals behind Commonwealth Racing, Armand Janjigian, his wife Robin, and former Suffolk Downs owner Richard Fields, believed they could make this work. While having a sports betting license may not be as a lucrative as operating a casino, it could prove to be enough to make operating a track in the state feasible.

Raffetto said the investors are well beyond the kicking-the-tires stage.

“I've been working for them for well over a year and this is nothing new,” he said. “If you had any idea how much money they have already spent on architects and engineers you'd shake your head and you'd see that they are very serious. They wouldn't be going down this road if they didn't think it was a good business decision. They understand there will be a lot of competition in the sports betting market but they've already spent a lot of money. That's how I know this isn't pie in the sky. They are a lot of smarter than I am and they know what they are doling when it comes to a running a business.”

Their task has been made easier by the fact that the state is holding on to about $22 million that is earmarked for Thoroughbred purses, meaning track owners, at least initially, may not have to contribute much to the purse account. Even though there has not been Thoroughbred racing in the state for more than three years, the industry still receives a cut from slot revenues from Plainridge Park, a Standardbred track. The money keeps piling up.

“The money is there to at least get things going,” Raffetto said. “I am imagining a meet where purses will be similar to what we had at Suffolk toward the end for the festivals. I think we could easily be giving out a half-million dollars each racing day.”

Massachusetts has not had Thoroughbred racing for more than three years | Horsephotos

Raffetto said the group has yet to decide where to build a track, but said two locations are under consideration, both in the western part of the state. Finding a municipality that will allow a racetrack to be built within its borders has been an issue. Commonwealth Racing thought it had found its home when putting forth a proposal to build a track in Sturbridge. Zoning changes were needed to approve an agriculture and zoning overlay district to move the project forward, but, last October, Sturbridge voters rejected a proposal that called for the building of a track and a community center.

“A month from now we will be ready to release the site,” Raffetto said. “We have found two places. Now it's matter of seeing what makes most sense. There are pros and cons to each one.”

The plan is to build a small facility that can comfortably hold 3,000 to 4,000 fans. Raffetto said building the track may cost about $60 million.

“A lot depends on the nature of the facility,” he said. “How big and ornate do you want the facility to be? Are you building permanent barns, are you bringing in barns that would be temporary structures set up just for the meet? If you are going to build a track from scratch, the building, the barns and everything else that goes with it, it probably would end up costing you $60 million for a simple structure. Does it mean that's what we will spend? It could be. Some of the estimates we've gotten have been greater than that. It really depends on the location. It could be $50 million, it could be $90 million. We want a first-class facility, don't get me wrong. But we want something that makes sense in this day and age.”

There is a glut of racing already operating in the Northeast and the horse population shrinks every year, which could make it hard for a new Massachusetts track to find enough horses to put on a show. With that in mind, Raffetto said the plan is to run a short meet, most likely in the fall. In addition, there will be just one racing surface–a grass course.

“Racing the way we knew it, with a track running for 100 or more days, well, the horse flesh is just not there to do that,” he said. “You have to keep it special. Those festival meets we did at Suffolk worked. We're trying to make this more of a festival-type thing rather than an everyday humdrum-type operation. We will have one course–a wide turf course where we can have two or three positions for the rail. Trainers want to run on the grass.”

As far as when the proposed track, which does not yet have a name, might open, Raffetto said it will happen “sooner than a lot of people might expect.” One possibility, he said, is that racing could get underway before the stands are built.

“It wouldn't be something like three years out,” he said. “Who knows? It could wind up being next year.”

Racing isn't expanding. It is contracting. Just last year alone the sport lost Arlington Park and Calder and several tracks are being kept alive only so that their owners can keep their casinos. Can a new track, far removed from a major city, one where the owners have no expectations of profiting from a casino, make it? It won't be easy, but in Massachusetts they appear ready to give it a try.

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New Smartphone App for Fasig-Tipton

In advance of next week's Saratoga Sale for top yearlings, Fasig-Tipton has launched a new smartphone app. Available for both iPhone and Android, it includes an enhanced page for each horse in every sale, showing pedigrees, photos, and videos, and enables users to take notes on that page which will save on the user's device.

In addition, the new app will give users the ability to create and customize multiple shortlists, view results, and access catalogues right from their phones or tablets. Eventually, users will be able to take a photo of a horse and attach it to their notes.

“The Fasig-Tipton app provides our customers with a mobile-friendly way to access all things Fasig-Tipton from one source on their smartphones,” said Max Hodge, Fasig-Tipton's vice president of client services. “We are excited to debut it ahead of our flagship yearling sale, the 101st Saratoga Sale.”

The Saratoga Sale is scheduled for next Monday and Tuesday.

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Life is Good for Pletcher Heading into the Whitney

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – At this time last year, trainer Todd Pletcher and his staff were getting to know Life Is Good (Into Mischief). Some 400 days after he arrived and with four wins from six races, the bay colt is an unquestioned standout in Pletcher's powerful and deep stable.

Up next for Life Is Good in a season that could yield an Eclipse Award and possibly even a Horse of the Year title is the $1-million GI Whitney S. Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. The historic Whitney, first run in 1928 as a memorial to Payne Whitney, who had died the previous year, has long been the pre-eminent race for older horses on the Saratoga schedule. Life Is Good heads the group of three horses that the Hall of Fame trainer will enter Wednesday morning and is likely to be the favorite in the nine-furlong contest. Pletcher is also entering Happy Saver (Super Saver) and Americanrevolution (Constitution), but acknowledged that Americanrevolution is not a lock to be in the race.

At the start of the meet, Pletcher answered a question about the 4-year-old's breeze by describing Life Is Good as an elite-level Thoroughbred.

“I think people who clock horses and watch a lot of horses breeze, we can appreciate just how special he is,” Pletcher said. “You just don't see too many do that and over the years, we'll kind of identify some horses as what we call 'one-percenters.' You know, the top one percenters. And he's kind of in the top 1% of the 1%.”

For Pletcher, that's pretty much gushing praise.

“He's just a super-talented horse,” Pletcher said this week. “He's so consistent, not only in his racing, but his training. Just loves what he does. He comes out every day with enthusiasm. Every breeze is good. Seems to be coming up to this race as good as any since we've got him.”

Since being transferred by his co-owners WinStar Farm and China Horse Club from trainer Bob Baffert to Pletcher early last summer, Life Is Good has won the GII Kelso, the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational and the GII John A. Nerud. He was second by a neck to champion Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music) in the GI H. Allen Jerkens in his debut for Pletcher and ended up fourth after leading much of the way in the G1 Dubai World Cup.

The Whitney is expected to draw the Bill Mott-trained Olympiad (Speightstown), winner of all five of his starts this year, and Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow), who has a pair of Grade I victories on his resume and has earned over $5 million.

“Good horses,” Pletcher said. “Hot Rod Charlie's a warrior. He's run some top-class races and Olympiad has, too. It's just the kind of field you'd expect you have to contend against in the Whitney.”

Life Is Good, bred by Gary and Mary West, was purchased for $525,000 as a 2019 Keeneland yearling. He easily won his only start as a 2-year-old and opened his 3-year-old campaign with victories in the GIII Sham and the GII San Felipe. An injury knocked him off the Triple Crown trail in March and he was moved to Pletcher's care when he resumed training in June.

Considering his strong body of work, Pletcher said it was hard to pick out one start as Life Is Good's best performance.

“I think all of his races have in some ways been impressive, even in Dubai, when he's running in quicksand,” he said. “But I thought the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile was awfully impressive. He just basically took it to them from the first step, and to carve out fractions like he did, and then win convincingly.”

From that high mark to end 2021, Pletcher said there have been more stellar outings this season.

“He came back in the Pegasus and it kind of looked like a race with two horses, with Knicks Go (Paynter)–similar style, kind of free-running,” Pletcher said. “We were committed to allowing our horse to run his race. He kind of broke well and took it to him. I thought both of those races were super-impressive. And then even the Nerud last time. Speaker's Corner (Street Sense) is coming off some big races and same thing, he just kind of took it to him. He's got so much natural speed and such a high- cruising speed and his ability to carry it over a distance of ground is what makes him so unique and so successful.”

Since winning the seven-furlong Nerud on July 2, Life is Good has breezed three times on the main track at Saratoga. On Saturday, he worked four furlongs in :48.25 under exercise rider Amelia Green. It was the eighth-fastest of 98 works at the distance.

Pletcher said even though Life Is Good is eager in the mornings, it is not correct to call him an easy horse to train.

“It takes a skilled rider and Amelia has done a great job with him,” Pletcher said. “She has been able to get him to relax some. He enjoys his training. If he were allowed to, he would over do it.”

WinStar and China Horse Club also own Americanrevolution, winner of the GI Cigar Mile in December. Pletcher said he definitely will be entered in the Whitney, but called him an insurance policy.

“You never know what can happen and have an off day,” he said. “By having another horse in there gives you some added security that way.”

Wertheimer and Frere's Happy Saver will start, Pletcher said. Never worse than third in 10 career starts, Happy Saver has been the runner-up in four-straight races, three of them Grade I events.

“He's a Grade I-winning horse and the options were pretty much to run him in the Alydar,” Pletcher said. “For a Grade I winner to drop down in class like that we didn't really feel like it would hold much significance. If the top horses didn't fire for some reason or got battled a bit in a speed duel you never know what could happen.”

Most of the attention in the Whitney at the “Graveyard of Favorites” will be on Life Is Good and whether he can give Pletcher his fourth victory in the race and first since Cross Traffic in 2013.

“He's a very willing horse every day,” Pletcher said. “Very generous. He wants to compete. If he sees a horse on the racetrack while he's galloping his natural instinct is he wants to engage that horse and pass him. It's great to have that, but we also don't want him to overachieve on a daily basis. That's what we tried to focus on, trying to keep him as settled and relaxed as we can and yet allow him to be himself.”

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