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Golden Pal Exits Troy in Good Order

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Before the conversation began rolling, trainer Wesley Ward brought his visitors to Golden Pal (Uncle Mo)'s stall Saturday morning and pointed to the 4-year-old, who was sprawled on his side on the wood chips-covered floor.
Ward chuckled.

“Every day at this time he takes a nap,” Ward said.

Some 10 hours after the two-time Breeders' Cup winner won the GIII Troy S. at Saratoga Race Course, his first start after a rare clunker in the G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot in June, Golden Pal looked like a contented dog resting in front of a fireplace. A few minutes later, he was on his feet checking out what was going on in the shedrow.

“Mentally, he's really a highly intelligent horse,” Ward said. “People think you are crazy, that it's just like, 'a horse is a horse.' You see that he's up in the front of the stall. That wasn't the case at Ascot. He was in the back of the stall and when he flew home and was in his own stall in his own home he was in the back of the stall kind of sulking. It took a little while for him to come out.”

Golden Pal didn't need any cheering up after running his record at Saratoga to three-for-three, all in stakes.

“He knows he won,” Ward said.

The 5 1/2-furlong Troy was the first of Golden Pal's seven career victories in 11 starts that he was not leading at every call. Golden Pal did not leave the gate as sharply as he normally does, but the race scenario played out exactly as Ward had hoped. Under Irad Ortiz, Jr. Golden Pal stalked and pounced, edging pacesetter True Valour (Ire) (Kodiac (GB)) by a head.

Ward has been preparing for the Breeders' Cup during training, having his veteran exercise rider Julio Garcia work him behind horses in breezes. Prior to the Troy, Ward took another step.

“I had a conversation with Irad's agent, Steve Rushing,” Ward said. “I said, 'A lot of jockeys get on my horses, and they just go, because they see me, think speed and they go.' And Irad, the reason I started to ride him is that he would break and do like he did yesterday. Lately, he kind of got a little speedy with some of the horses of mine and I told Steve, 'Look, especially with this horse, let's slow down a little bit, because mine are going to be up in the forefront of the race anyways.' I said, not just him but the others, but especially this one.'”

Ward has called Golden Pal the best horse he has trained and said that the colt's speed is his greatest asset.

“If he contain it, that makes him a better horse,” Ward said. “Because if you're strictly go-to-the-front type horse, you're a victim of the pace.”

Golden Pal is scheduled to leave Saratoga Sunday for Ward's base of operations at Keeneland. The tentative plan is to prepare him to leave the turf, where he has found so much success, and run in the GII Phoenix S. on dirt Oct. 8 at Keeneland. It is intended as a showcase for breeders that he is effective on turf and dirt. He will go on to attempt a second-straight win in GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint Nov. 5 at Keeneland, which is expected to be his career finale.

However, if all goes well, Ward said that the Coolmore syndicate that owns the colt might run him in Australia to expose him to breeders in the Southern Hemisphere.

Ward was pleased that Golden Pal showed that he had learned his lessons well in the Troy. Though he is accustomed to seeing Golden Pal leading the way in his races, he said he was always confident that the son of Lady Shipman (Midshipman) would catch the leader.

“I was. It was a nail-biter, but for me, I knew the greatness of this horse,” he said. “Take nothing away from the horse that he beat because he ran a really good race, but I knew when they hit that last little bit of the stretch that the greatness was going to come out of him, and it did.”

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Jaipur Rematch in Saratoga’s Troy

Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) looks for his third straight win since turning back to grass sprints in Friday's loaded GIII Troy S. going 5 1/2 furlongs at Saratoga.

The 2019 GII National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame S. winner followed a sixth-place finish in the GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. Mar. 6 with wins in Belmont's seven-furlong Elusive Quality S. Apr. 24 and the six-furlong GI Jackpocket Jaipur S. last time June 5. The re-opposing Chewing Gum (Candy Ride {Arg}) completed the exacta that day at 28-1 while the speedy and favored Bound for Nowhere (The Factor) tired to third.

“We backed him up to six furlongs and that was okay, five and a half is a bit of a different race on a different type of course,” Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said of Casa Creed. “It's a tighter course here, so we'll have to see how he negotiates that.”

Imprimis (Broken Vow), disqualified from first and placed third for interference in this race last year, exited a narrow win in Gulfstream's Janus S. Jan. 1 with consecutive second-place finishes in Tampa's Turf Dash S. Feb. 24 and Keeneland's GII Shakertown S. Apr. 3. He was beaten a nose by the aforementioned classy 7-year-old Bound for Nowhere in the latter.

“He's a very good fresh horse,” trainer Joe Orseno said of the 3-1 morning-line favorite. “When he came out of the gate in the Shakertown, he broke a bone in his nose. We took precautions over it, but he's been fine and ready to run. The Troy has been on our radar since that race. I was thinking about the Jaipur and decided to skip it, but he's ready to go.”

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Bound For Nowhere Pointing To Saratoga’s Troy Stakes

Bound for Nowhere, who finished third last out in the Grade 1 Jackpocket Jaipur on June 5 at Belmont Park, will pursue another graded stake on the NYRA circuit for owner-trainer Wesley Ward when he runs in the Grade 3, $200,000 Troy presented by Horse Racing Ireland on August 6 at Saratoga Race Course.

The seven-time winning millionaire broke sharply in the six-furlong Jaipur with some company from fellow graded stakes winners Sombeyay and Gregorian Chant to his outside. Bound for Nowhere maintained command until just past the sixteenth-pole when passed by Casa Creed, who notched a two-length score over Chewing Gum.

While pleased with the effort, Ward said he would rather see Bound for Nowhere convey a late-closing running style which he showed when conquering the Grade 2 Shakertown under Joel Rosario on April 3 at Keeneland.

“From behind I think he's better, especially as he gets older,” Ward said. “As luck would have it, he broke decent. He was kind of smoking out there the first part of the race. I was happy with the way he ran, but I would have rather seen him come from behind. It wasn't Joel's fault, I don't give riding instructions. I was just really happy with the way he rode him in the Shakertown, where he came from well out of it and showed one big punch. I loved that ride.”

Bound for Nowhere, a 7-year-old son of The Factor, breezed an easy five-eighths over the turf at Belmont Park on Thursday morning in his second work following the Jaipur.

“He worked at Churchill the day after closing day along with Golden Pal,” Ward said. “I like to keep them on the grass, so I shipped them to Belmont to work them on the grass at Belmont.”

Ward said Golden Pal will target the Grade 3, $120,000 Quick Call on July 15, Opening Day at the Spa. The son of Uncle Mo, out of 11-time stakes-winner Lady Shipman, last raced when capturing the Grade 2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint on November 6 at Keeneland.

Golden Pal also worked five-eighths over the Belmont turf on Thursday morning.

“From what I see with him in the mornings, he's just extremely talented,” Ward said.

Golden Pal finished a close second as a maiden in the Group 2 Norfolk at Ascot last June at second asking. On his return to North America, Golden Pal graduated in style with a front-running score in the Skidmore in August at Saratoga.

Ward said Stonestreet Stables' Campanelle has returned from her recent Royal Ascot conquest in good order.

The Irish-bred daughter of Kodiac crossed the wire second in the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup on June 18, but was elevated to first following the disqualification of Dragon Symbol. The victory marked a second straight Royal Ascot conquest for Campanelle, who won the Group 2 Queen Mary last summer at the prestigious race meet.

Campanelle is currently at Keeneland training for her next test which will likely take place in the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest on August 8 at Deauville in France. Last year, she captured the Group 1 Prix Morny at the French racetrack.

“She's ready for a work,” Ward said. “We're in a little bit of a pickle because we're mandated to breeze on the dirt. That's her home track and that's where she thrives. Her race is about a month from now in France.”

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‘Couldn’t Dream Of Anything Better’: Wayne Potts Celebrates Memorable First Stakes Win

It wasn't conventional, but it was memorable. As the years go by, Laurel Park-based trainer Wayne Potts will have no trouble recalling the circumstances of his first career stakes win.

The milestone victory happened Aug. 8 in Saratoga, when Raj Jagnanan's 8-year-old gelding American Sailor finished second in the $200,000 Troy (G3) but had his number put up following the disqualification of first-place finisher Imprimis for interfering with Shekky Shebaz, who ran third.

Potts' breakthrough in the 5 ½-furlong turf sprint for older horses also came as part of Saratoga's Travers (G1) program, the biggest of its summer meet.

“I couldn't dream of anything better,” Potts said. “I've had 12 or 13 seconds … but this was my first one. To knock them both out at the same time, a stakes and a graded-stakes … at Saratoga … on Travers day … it's unbelievable.

“I had dinner [that] night and my phone was beeping and dinging. As I'm walking my horse around waiting for the decision by the stewards, my phone's going off non-stop,” he added. “I had an outpouring of support from everybody just for finishing second in the race, and then when they put us up it was such a different feeling. I wish the stands would have been packed to get that experience but to get national TV coverage and to have that happen, it's fantastic.”

Potts, a 39-year-old native of Rockville, Md. who went out on his own in 2004 after working four years for Charles Town-based trainer David Rose, said he received 374 text messages following the race.

“I was on my phone until almost midnight [that] night trying to respond to everybody and then [the next] morning. It was great. Trainers from Maryland messaging me … the support that I got was amazing,” Potts said. “To the guys in Maryland and where I started back at Charles Town and Shenandoah [Downs] I'd say, 'Guys, keep dreaming. It can happen.'

“I started with one $500 horse. I started from the ground up, cleaning stalls and hotwalking, and I got to where I am today,” he added. “Again, I can't take all the credit. My owners are behind me. My help at the barn, they work endless hours. My assistants, I couldn't do it without them. I give them just as much credit as I give myself.”

Potts hauled American Sailor from Laurel to Saratoga and back himself, giving his stable star a few days off before bringing him back to the track. After getting the winter off for the first time in three years, American Sailor returned with an optional claiming allowance victory June 8 at Laurel, more than seven months following his 2019 finale.

“That race made me feel really good about him. I fought tooth and nail. My owner at first didn't want to give him the time, he wanted to go to Sam Houston like we had been doing,” Potts said. “It took a good 30 days for it to finally sink in and he said, 'You know what, if that's what you want to do go ahead and do that,' so I turned him out.

“He told me [after the race] and he messaged me again [the next] morning and said, 'I have to tell you, the best thing you ever talked me into doing was giving the horse the time off,'” he added. “He came back and he looks fantastic. He looks so good after giving him the time to drop his head and be a horse for the 60 days we gave him. It was great to see the flesh on him coming back. He really filled out and he's really muscled up. It was the right thing to do.”

Jagnanan was also on hand at Saratoga for the win, the 15th of his career for American Sailor, who saw his career bankroll swell over $500,000. Potts claimed American Sailor for $25,000 in September 2017 at Suffolk Downs, lost him for a $7,500 tag the following summer and got him back shortly afterward when Jagnanan purchased him privately.

Since their reunion, American Sailor has put together a record of 5-3-1 from 13 starts for Potts with purse earnings of more than $400,000, the bulk of his races having come at Laurel or Pimlico Race Course.

“Maryland racing is no joke. Maryland racing is very, very tough. Lots of good horsemen, lots of quality horses, lots of good trainers. Maryland racing is very, very competitive,” Potts said. “This horse, he means a lot to me. I'm taking [the DQ win] and running with it. I've been disqualified from races before and I was a little upset about it and the guys that got the win were smiling and walking away, so that's what I'm going to do.”

Potts said he will take his time finding a spot for American Sailor to run back. Laurel will be hosting the $100,000 Laurel Dash for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs on its world-class turf course Monday, Sept. 7 during the extended summer meet.

“We're going to play it by ear,” he said. “I'm going to take the next week, week and a half to see how he comes back and then get him back on the racetrack and go from there. I'm in no rush to wheel him right back.”

Potts was quick to credit Maryland Jockey Club outrider and ex-jockey Kaymarie Kreidel and current Laurel-based rider Tais Lyapustina with American Sailor's development. Lyapustina is recovering from a spill at Laurel three hours before the Troy was run.

“Kaymarie gallops the horse for me and Tais works him all the time for me. The two have done a great job with him. Believe it or not, a guy cannot gallop him. He doesn't get along with them. He's a ladies' man. Both of those ladies have done a fantastic job,” Potts said. “I actually spoke to Tais [the next day]. She said she was a little sore but everything's well. Nothing was broken, which was great news for herself and me. I use her a lot at Laurel.”

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