Golden Pal to retire to Ashford after seeking third Breeders' Cup victory

Grade 1 winner Golden Pal will retire to stud next year at Coolmore America's Ashford Stud following his final start in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland, where he is chasing his third straight Breeders' Cup victory.

Since breaking his maiden at two in the 2020 Skidmore Stakes at Saratoga, the four-year-old son of Ashford's Uncle Mo is undefeated in the United States and has won seven Graded races over five and five and a half furlongs, including last year's Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar, which he captured in gate-to-wire fashion by a length and a quarter.

Golden Pal earned his first trip to the Breeders' Cup winner's circle at two, when he won the Juvenile Turf Sprint at Keeneland.

"This is the fastest of the fast," said trainer Wesley Ward after the colt's tour-de-force strike in the Shakertown Stakes at Keeneland. The colt followed that victory with a win in the Troy Stakes at Saratoga and the Woodford Stakes at Keeneland.

Ward has long maintained Golden Pal is the best he has ever trained, though the colt was effectively denied the chance to show Royal Ascot racegoers what he could do in June in the King's Stand Stakes, when he was very slowly away from the gates with jockey Irad Ortiz not expecting the starter to let them go when he did.

Both Uncle Mo, and Golden's Pal's broodmare sire Midshipman, won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, while his Grade 3-winning dam Lady Shipman won 13 times and earned more than $900,000 and finished a close second against males in the 2015 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland.

Lady Shipman set a course record of 1:00.46 for in the Smart N Fancy Stakes at Saratoga when going five and a half furlongs on the grass. Lady Shipman is out of the winning Mutakddim mare Sumthingtotalkabt, who is out of the multiple stakes winner and producer Nannetta.

"We've followed Golden Pal's career closely and he's a very welcome addition to our roster," said Ashford's Dermot Ryan. "He has speed to burn and, like many of those by Uncle Mo, he's a very good-looking horse.

"I don't think any horse has come close to beating him here in the US since he broke his maiden in the Skidmore Stakes, and Uncle Mo has made a very good start as a sire of sires so it's all good news."

Uncle Mo was the leader of his sire class for his first- through third-crop years. He set a progeny earnings record during his freshman year in 2015 and led the standings that year by number of black-type winners (seven) and number of Graded winners (three).

His son Nyquist became the second horse to sweep the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Kentucky Derby, and now stands at Darley. Uncle Mo currently ranks fifth on the leading sires list by progeny earnings and is the co-third-leading sire by number of Graded/Group stakes winners with seven.

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