Wesley Ward has educated among the quickest and hottest turf sprinters of current reminiscence, together with Undrafted , No Nay Never , and Lady Aurelia , all of whom he sent to Europe for group 1 success. Each of them had their turn as the post-time favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) but couldn’t bring home the big prize in their home country. This year Ward has three starters for the Turf Sprint, including the likely favorite, 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2T) hero Golden Pal .
“I really believe that Golden Pal is probably going to end up being the best horse I’ve ever trained,” Ward said. “If he gets away from there in the first jump, depending on how fast they go up front, the race will be his to lose.”
Golden Pal did not start his 3-year-old season until July, easily winning the Quick Call Stakes (G3T) at Saratoga Race Course by three lengths as a heavy odds-on alternative. Ward then despatched him to York for the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe (G1), anticipating to placed on a present.
“I used to be fairly enthusiastic about that, and he simply form of allow us to down with no obvious excuses,” Ward stated.
Golden Pal returned to Ward’s base at Keeneland and picked up his coaching proper the place he left off, as if the York flop by no means occurred. Earlier this month he made Keeneland’s Woodford Stakes Offered by TVG (G2T) seem like a non-public exercise, profitable by greater than two lengths and re-establishing himself because the one to beat Saturday.
The Coolmore connections of Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and Westerberg bought Golden Pal earlier than his 3-year-old debut, presumably with the expectation that he’ll at some point be part of his father on their stallion roster. He boasts an impeccable pedigree—by the wildly profitable Uncle Mo out of 11-time stakes winner and 2015 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint runner-up Lady Shipman —and flawless conformation in addition to the established success on the track.
“He’s an absolute physical specimen and if you looked at him right now he’d be the best-looking horse you’ve ever seen, or equal to anyways,” Ward said. “He just has a brilliant mind to him and as he’s getting older you can see the maturity in him. He’s very easy to train, easy on himself, intelligent to where he can adapt to whatever happens in a race, he’s not a total speedball. But he’s so quick and agile for a bigger colt and he moves like a cat.”
Should Golden Pal throw in another inexplicable York-type performance, Ward trains two other contenders that are too good to regard as the B-team.
Three-year-old Arrest Me Red shipped to New York to win the Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational Stakes (G3T) the week before his stablemate won the Woodford.
“I told Doug Cauthen and Gretchen Jackson (of Lael Stables), ‘Look, I’d just hate to see you get beat (by Golden Pal in the Woodford) when there’s a race in New York that I think you could win, and the spacing will be better to get him to the Breeders’ Cup.'”
The plan worked out just as Ward envisioned and now he has the winners of two of the East Coast’s most important preps for the Turf Sprint. It was the first graded stakes victory for Arrest Me Red, who is now 2-for-2 since joining Ward’s barn over the summer.
“He ran a great race,” Ward said of the Belmont effort. “He showed some antics in the paddock and the post parade that were unlike him. He got hot and was very hard to saddle. He’d never been that way and I just don’t know what happened. He came back and he’s been his calm, cool, collected self that he’s always been. I think when we get out to California we’ll school him a little bit. If he stays calm in the post parade that race will move him up even further. If that’s resolved he’s going to run an even better race out at Del Mar.”
Ward is also giving 4-year-old filly Kimari a chance. She hasn’t raced since taking Keeneland’s Madison Stakes (G1) on dirt in April yet Ward insists he has her ready to pop.
“She is, absolutely, fitness-wise, ready to go,” Ward said, even while admitting the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) would have been the more appropriate race if she had more time to prepare.
“We went up to Saratoga and she had a really nice breeze on the grass. She came out of the work a little bit off behind and we jogged her for bit and she didn’t come out of it like we’d like to see. We erred on the side of caution and brought her back to Kentucky and gave her time. Our original plan was to go in the Filly & Mare Sprint but, unfortunately, with the time that we lost we just couldn’t make the seven furlongs on the dirt.”
Kimari gives Ward another way to win should a fierce battle for the lead develop and burn out the frontrunners.
“She kind of gets away a step slow, so that’s also a factor in putting her in the Turf Sprint, because they’ll be motoring early and she’ll be coming from behind with one of the best come-from-behind riders we have in Joel Rosario.”
Despite Ward’s formidable trio there are plenty of other connections that have no trouble picturing themselves on the purple podium, especially those of the defending race winner, Glass Slippers . The 5-year-old mare hasn’t won since last year’s Turf Sprint but enters this race off third-place runs in the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp Longines (G1), the Derrinstown Stud Flying Five (G1), and the King George Qatar Stakes (G2), following the same schedule that worked for her in 2020.
Like Ward, trainer Kevin Ryan also has a Plan B that is more of a second Plan A. Five-year-old gelding Emaraaty Ana got his first group 1 win last time out in the Betfair Sprint Cup (G1) at Haydock Park, inspiring Ryan to proclaim him “as good a horse as I’ve ever trained.”
While Europeans have historically been prominent in all of the other Breeders’ Cup grass races, the Turf Sprint has been dominated by American speed. Ryan was the first European trainer to win this race with Glass Slippers. The only other overseas trainer entering this year is Ireland’s Ado McGuinness, who tasted his first group 1 success in the Abbaye on Arc Day with A Case of You .
Other top contenders include Extravagant Kid , the Al Quoz Sprint Sponsored by Azizi Developments (G1) winner on the Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) undercard; Gear Jockey , dominant winner of Kentucky Downs‘ FanDuel Turf Dash (G3T) in opposition to a deep subject; and Lieutenant Dan , winner of the Eddie D. Stakes (G2T) at Santa Anita Park and 2-for-2 over the Del Mar turf.
A full subject of 12 has been entered for the Turf Dash however regardless of their credentials, Ward believes all besides Golden Pal are operating for second. Can anybody, even his different two, get previous Golden Pal if he breaks nicely?
“I do not see it,” Ward stated. “I have been singing this horse’s praises for a protracted, very long time. He stepped it up final yr (within the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Dash) and he’ll step it up once more.”
Entries: Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1T)
Del Mar, Saturday, November 06, 2021, Race 5
- Grade IT
- 5f
- Turf
- $1,000,000
- 3 yo’s & up
- 12:40 PM (native)
