Golden Award Makes the Grade in Shuvee Stakes
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand
Golden Award wins the Shuvee Stakes at Saratoga Race Course
Summer Wind Equine's Golden Award turned in a dominating performance July 21 and earned her first graded stakes score in the $194,000 Shuvee Stakes (G3) at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Hall of Fame conditioner Bill Mott and ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, the 4-year-old daughter of Medaglia d'Oro was first out of the gate in Sunday's 1 1/8-mile dirt test, but grade 1 winner She's a Julie led by a half length on the rail as the quarter-mile went in :25.24.
Tracking the pace, Golden Award poked her head in front with five furlongs to run. Despite making brief contact with another runner on the first turn, favorite Wow Cat rated just off the pace and shifted into the three path to move up for third as six furlongs went in 1:13.88.
Asked for more outside the quarter pole, Golden Award inched clear at the top of the stretch, encouraged by the left-handed whip. At the sixteenth pole, Gaffalione switched to the right-handed whip, and Golden Award kicked home to cross the wire 2 1/4 lengths in front. The final time was 1:49.64.
In the final furlong, Chad Brown-trained Wow Cat chased down She's a Julie on the far outside and managed to get up for second. She's a Julie took third, followed by Pink Sands and Forever Liesl.
"The trip set up nicely," said Gaffalione. "She broke alertly and put herself in a good position. She was kind of keen a little bit down the backside, but we were going awfully slow, so I just let her out a little bit and put my hands down, and she just kept reaching and reaching. When I asked her coming into the stretch, she really exploded and finished the job.
"Mr. Mott and I spoke in the paddock because last time she did the same thing; she ranged up there really easily and she just kind of hung. Today, he said, 'Don't wait on her, and if you have the opportunity, go ahead and ask her and make them come get you,' and he was right. He had her 100 percent ready, and all the credit goes to him and his team."
"I penciled this race in long ago," said Mott. "When I saw the fractions, we figured She's a Julie would be going, but we were going to keep our eye on her, and I said, 'You've got to worry about her.' I know that Wow Cat is tough, too, but I knew we had to worry about this one first. They weren't going fast. They were setting moderate fractions.
"It didn't hurt today. She's certainly bred for it. It was odd—in her first couple of races, she showed a tremendous amount of speed and then backed up, but she was maybe going a little fast early."
Golden Award was a nose behind Mylady Curlin last out in the May 17 Allaire DuPont Distaff Stakes (G3) at Pimlico Race Course. She finished fourth one start prior in the April 19 Hilliard Lyons-Baird Doubledogdare Stakes (G3) at Keeneland, her stakes debut.
Bred in Kentucky by Harvey Clarke, Golden Award was produced by the Arch mare Arch's Gal Edith. She is a half sister to champion and millionaire I'll Have Another , who currently stands at Ballena Vista Farm in California. Arch's Gal Edith has a 2-year-old filly by American Pharoah named All American Gal and was bred back to Medaglia d'Oro for the 2020 season.