The Wesley Ward trained Golden Pal will target the King’s Stand at Royal Ascot next summer after the two year old signed off his season with a sensational win at the Breeders' Cup meeting.
Golden Pal has been a superb sprinter for the yard having been unleashed to British viewers when finishing an extremely close second in the Group Two Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, just being beat by the Michael Bell trained The Lir Jet.
He was set for the Nunthorpe at York after that event but instead was kept in America where he went on to land a Stakes contest in taking style.
That set him up perfectly for the Breeders' Cup meeting where he took on a strong field of 13 runners and coming from a horrible draw he managed to clear away from the field at Keeneland to land the Grade Two Juvenile Turf Sprint.
Rocket! Golden Pal wins the $1m @BreedersCup Juvenile Turf Sprint for Wesley Ward and @iradortiz at @keenelandracing #BC20 pic.twitter.com/VluQqlSW18
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) November 6, 2020
Ward has huge plans for the juvenile as he steps up to being a three year old next term and although he has the option of taking on his own age group in the Commonwealth cup, his handler believes that the King's Stands Stakes is a much more suitable option.
(Credit ATR) The handler said: “We’re really excited about bringing Golden Pal back to Royal Ascot. It was a great day at Keeneland and we’re really looking forward to 2021.
“We’re working from the King’s Stand backwards. I think we’ll go for the Commonwealth Cup with Campanelle and let the colt run against the older horses in the five-furlong race.”