While it wasn’t the Kentucky Derby his connections dreamed about earlier in the year, it was a Derby, nonetheless – the last Derby of 2022.
GOLDEN GLIDER, owned in part by Kitchener, Ontario’s Manfred and Penny Conrad, along with Gary Barber, won a thrilling stretch duel to take the $100,000 Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream Park by a nose on December 26.
The son of Ghostzapper – Golden Scarf by Orientate won by a nose over pacesetter Steady On in a four-horse photo finish that highlighted the opening day card of Gulfstream Park’s Championship Meet.
“Wish it was the Kentucky Derby,” said Nick Tomlinson, assistant to winning trainer Mark Casse. “But we’re happy with this one.”
The 1 1/16-mile stakes, originally scheduled for the turf, was switched to the Tapeta course due to the unseasonably chilly and wet conditions that have prevailed in South Florida the past several days.
That didn’t deter Golden Glider, who was coming off a five-month layoff as a gelding and received a nice ride by jockey Jose Morelos to barely overtake Steady On at the wire. It was a neck further back to Fort Washington and Dakota Gold, who finished in a dead heat for third.
“Jose gave him a phenomenal ride,” Tomlinson said.
Golden Glider, purchased by the Conrads as a weanling at the 2019 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale for $395,000, won his career debut at Woodbine on Tapeta in November 2021. Following another win which came on the dirt at Tampa Bay Downs in January 2022, he was put on the Kentucky Derby trail but landed fifth in the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa and fourth in both the Tampa Derby (G2) and Blue Grass Stakes (G1). He was second in the Grade 3 Peter Pan but eighth in the Belmont Stakes (G1) and sixth in the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga in July before going on hiatus.
“We were looking to get into the (Kentucky) Derby, but obviously it didn’t pan out,” Tomlinson said.
“He had a tough campaign,” Tomlinson said. “We took him home and gave him some time off.”
Casse said the plan now is to “try him on grass.”
The Conrads, who burst onto the Canadian racing scene about a decade ago with horses such as graded stakes winners Leavem in Malibu, Jennifer Lynnette and 2018’s Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) winner Shamrock Rose, were winning their first stakes race since Aubrieta won the 2021 Glorious Song Stakes.
Golden Glider, bred by Nursery Place and Dickes Equine in Kentucky, descends from one of the powerful Canadian breeding pedigree lines created by ‘Bud’ Willmot’s Kinghaven Farms. The chestnut gelding’s 4th dam is 1969 Canadian Oaks winner COOL MOOD. Cool Mood was bred to Buckpasser and produced stakes winner Passing Mood, the dam of Canadian Triple Crown winner With Approval and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Touch Gold, as well as stakes winner Daijin, dam of champion Serenading among others, and stakes winner Bar U Mood, the second dam of Golden Glider.
Bar U Mood’s 2010 foal, winner Golden Scarf, is the dam of Golden Glider and stakes winning 2-year-old Glamanation.
– with files from Gulfstream Park media
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