Aggressive ride lands Golden Award in Shuvee winner's circle

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Jockey Tyler Gaffalione felt Golden Award may have hung a bit when she fell a nose short to Mylady Curlin in the Grade 3 Allaire Du Pont Distaff at Pimlico two months ago.

So Gaffalione said trainer Bill Mott told him to be more aggressive and decisive when it was time to make his move in Sunday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Shuvee Stakes at Saratoga.

Those instructions paid off as Gaffalione asked Golden Award to run leaving the quarter pole, and she put away She’s a Julie and turned aside Wow Cat to win the Shuvee by 2 1/4 lengths in the last of 13 races Sunday at the Spa.

Wow Cat, second in the Shuvee last year, was second again, by three-quarters of a length over She’s a Julie. Pink Sands and Forever Liesl completed the order of finish in the scratched-reduced field of five.

The win was the fourth from nine starts for Golden Award, a half-brother to 2012 Kentucky Derby winner I’ll Have Another owned by Jane Lyons’s Summer Wind Farm.

The win also was the third on the card for Gaffalione who is riding full time at Saratoga for the first time. It was the first graded stakes victory at Saratoga for Gaffalione, who has five winners at the meet.

Gaffalione said Golden Award ranged up to Mylady Curlin midway down the backside in the Du Pont but couldn’t finish the job.

“Today, [Mott] said, ‘Don’t wait on her, when you have the opportunity, go ahead and ask her and make them come get you,’ ” Gaffalione said. “And he was right.”

Golden Award latched onto She’s a Julie before the opening half-mile was completed in 50.24 seconds. Golden Award poked her head in front after six furlongs were run in 1:13.88. Turning for home, She’s a Julie tried to fight on from the inside, but Golden Award put her away by midstretch and then had to brace for the challenge of Wow Cat who was making her first start since her runner-up finish to Monomoy Girl in last November’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Golden Award responded to that challenge, edging away to victory.

Golden Award covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.64 and returned $8.50 as the 3-1 third choice.

“We figured She’s a Julie might be going, but we were going to keep our eye on her and I said I know Wow Cat is tough, too, but we got to worry about this one first,” Mott said. “They weren’t going fast. They were setting moderate fractions.”

While the Shuvee is the stepping-stone to the Grade 1 Personal Ensign later in the meet, Golden Award is not definite to run back in that spot. Mott plans to run Delaware Handicap winner Elate, while trainer Steve Asmussen is eyeing that spot with multiple Grade 1 winner Midnight Bisou, who is 5 for 5 this year following her victory in Saturday’s Molly Pitcher at Monmouth Park.

Meanwhile, the connections of Wow Cat – jockey Jose Ortiz and trainer Chad Brown – said simply that their mare was second-best on Sunday.

“Honestly, I think she’ll move way forward off her first race off the layoff,” Ortiz said. “She was training great, but there’s only so much you can do with them in the morning.”