Golden Pal glides to dominant win as part of Blue Grass Stakes undercard at Keeneland
Much like Friday’s opening day, the second day of the 2022 Spring Meet at Keeneland featured a variety of distinct weather conditions that affected the action on the track.
Overnight precipitation gave way to morning snow showers, and early races featured a sloppy track that later improved to muddy.
The turf course remained good, but the third race on the card was moved from being 1 mile on the turf course to 1 mile on the main track.
By the time the undercard stakes racing began at 2:45 p.m., the inclement weather for the day had moved away and only cold temperatures remained.
Prevalence captured the Commonwealth, Spendarella won the Appalachian, Just One Time came home first in the Madison and Golden Pal was victorious in the Shakertown, which were all run before Zandon was the big winner of the day in the Blue Grass Stakes.
Here’s a look at how the undercard stakes racing shook out Saturday at Keeneland.
Prevalence prevails in Commonwealth
Prevalence, trained by Brendan Walsh and ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, claimed the first graded stakes race victory of Saturday by winning the Grade 3, $300,000 Commonwealth that went 7 furlongs on a sloppy main track.
“He’s just a very smart horse. He does everything so easily,” Gaffalione said after the 35th running of the race. “He has a high cruising speed, and he’s a very intelligent horse.”
Long Range Toddy came in second, O Besos was third and Surveillance finished in fourth.
It was a disappointing run for the favorite, Steve Asmussen-trained Nashville, which owns the Keeneland track record for a 6-furlong race.
Winner of his most recent start at Fair Grounds in New Orleans in wire-to-wire fashion, Nashville finished last in the Commonwealth.
“He felt good down the backside, but at the top of the stretch he just wasn’t able to keep up,” jockey Luis Saez said.
Spendarella surges on turf in Appalachian
Spendarella claimed a victory by 1 3/4 lengths in the Grade 2, $400,000 Appalachian, giving Gaffalione consecutive stakes wins after he was also aboard Prevalence.
Dolce Zel was second, Skims was third and Kneeships was fourth in the eight-horse race.
Spendarella remains undefeated in her career, and she provided trainer Graham Motion with his third Appalachian triumph.
The Appalachian was the first turf race run at Keeneland on Saturday.
“She’s made me look good. She just does everything so easily,” Motion said. “She’s such a professional, she’s a fighter.”
Motion indicated Spendarella might next be in action at the Royal Ascot in England.
Just One Time makes late pass in Madison
Jockey Flavien Prat kicked off a big day with a homestretch win in the Grade 1, $500,000 Madison, as Just One Time passed Bell’s the One in the closing furlong.
Trained by Louisville’s Brad Cox and ridden by the 29-year old Frenchman, Just One Time came on strong at the end.
“I wasn’t happy with her when I first got her – how she was doing, how she looked – but she’s starting to really polish off and gave us the confidence to ship to Gulfstream (Park),” Cox said.
Postrace, Cox was already looking toward the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, which will be held at Keeneland in November.
“Hopefully, it will be a race where there’s some pace she can close into. I think she’s versatile. She’s obviously shown she can win up close and sit off of it,” Cox said.
Golden Pal cruises to win in Shakertown
Golden Pal lived up to his billing with a commanding victory in the Grade 2, $350,000 Shakertown on turf, giving jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. another stakes race win in the opening two days at Keeneland.
Ortiz won a pair of stakes races on Friday during the opening day of the Spring Meet — the Central Bank Ashland and the Kentucky Utilities Transylvania — and added the Shakertown to his wins list Saturday.
The 26th running of the event saw Golden Pal win by nearly 5 lengths over 70-1 longshot Johnny Unleashed in second, while Gear Jockey edged Diamond Oops in a photo finish for third place.
Golden Pal’s pedigree speaks for itself.
The horse is a past Breeders’ Cup champion and is now undefeated in three Keeneland starts.
Trainer Wesley Ward is now a four-time Shakertown champion, and has won the race in consecutive years.
“This is the fastest of the fast. He’s just blessed with speed and agility,” Ward said of Golden Pal. “He moves like a cat, he’s so quick. For a big, sturdy horse like he is, he’s just a once-in-a-lifetime horse.”
Ward won the 2016 Shakertown with Undrafted and both the 2018 and 2021 events with Bound for Nowhere.
This story was originally published April 9, 2022 at 6:48 PM.
