Golden Pal tries to get back to winning ways in Troy Stakes

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Despite an unforeseen bump in the road in June at Ascot, Golden Pal will be an overwhelming favorite when he returns to Saratoga for a third straight season in Friday’s $300,000 Troy.

Even with the imposing presence of Golden Pal, the defending Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint champion, the Grade 3 Troy lured a field of seven that also includes the speedy Carotari, runner-up in this race a year ago, and True Valour, beaten just a length when third in the Grade 1 Jaipur in his previous start.

Golden Pal went postward the 9-5 favorite in the Group 1 King’s Stand at Ascot under Irad Ortiz Jr. But he lost all chance when he broke very poorly after being unprepared at the start, and finished 16th and last.

:: DRF's Saratoga headquarters – Stakes schedule, previews, recaps, past performances, and more

“Irad was looking back at the horse they scratched at the gate when they kicked it,” said Golden Pal’s trainer, Wesley Ward. “He got left five lengths, rushed to the lead in what they tell me was the fastest internal fraction they’ve ever had at Ascot, and really had no chance after that.”

Golden Pal, 4, has won six of his seven starts in the United States. Among his wins are the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint last fall at Keeneland, the Skidmore here at 2, and the Grade 3 Quick Call here last summer.

“He’s done everything we’ve wanted to see coming into this race, so hopefully he’ll get himself back on track towards the Breeders Cup,” Ward said.

Ward said Golden Pal’s next start could be on the dirt this fall at Keeneland in the Grade 2 Phoenix, a Win and You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

“We’d like to show the breeders that he can run on dirt as well as turf,” Ward said. “He’s by Uncle Mo, and it’s something I’ve wanted to try again but was a little reluctant to do because he was still a bit fragile earlier in his career.”

Carotari set a contested pace before succumbing grudgingly in the final yards to finish second behind Fast Boat in the 2021 Troy. He has won three of five subsequent starts, but exits a seventh-place finish as the heavy favorite in the Select Stakes on June 19 at Monmouth Park.

The 8-year-old True Valour will make his local debut while exiting one of the best performance of his career in the Jaipur. He was beaten just a length by winner Casa Creed after setting a contested pace in the six-furlong Jaipur. He earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure, his second best in 33 lifetime starts. The outing was just the second for True Valour since he finished sixth in the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint in March of 2021.

Arzak is in far and away the best form of his career. He has started in three races this year, all at Woodbine. Arzak opened the season with back-to-back stakes victories over the Woodbine synthetic surface before returning to grass to finish second after a tardy beginning in the Grade 2 Highlander. The Ward-trained turf sprint specialist Bound for Nowhere defeated Arzak by a length.