Golden Pal's Woodford Triumph Sets the Stage for Breeders' Cup Finale

There is one dance left in the racing career of Golden Pal, whose warm-up performance in Saturday’s Woodford (G2) Presented by Fan Duel offered a glimpse of what could be a showstopper on Nov. 5 in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1).

In winning the Woodford Presented by FanDuel in stakes-record time of 1:01.39 for the 5½ furlongs on the turf, Golden Pal showed his usual speed out of the gate and then put the field away with a burst at the top of the stretch.

“He was going along well and then he hit the top of the stretch and went ‘Whoosh!’,” trainer Wesley Ward said Sunday morning.

Golden Pal has gone “whoosh” in all four of his Keeneland starts, winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2), Shakertown (G2) and Woodford twice.

“I have had a lot of horses and they all have their personalities, but he is like a Tom Brady or a Joe Montana,” Ward said. “He’s like that, someone that others look up to. He’s just an unbelievable athlete.”