Golden Pal will be racing for more than just Royal Ascot glory when he contests the King’s Stand Stakes with the 1000-metre Group 1 an audition for a trip to Australia.
Tom Magnier from Coolmore, which races the star American star, said Golden Pal is in contention to occupy the global racing and breeding giant’s slot in the $15 million The Everest (1200m) at Randwick this October.
Coolmore was represented by Home Affairs in last year’s The Everest, but that star colt will be retired after also competing at Royal Ascot, and Magnier said the Wesley Ward-trained Golden Pal would be given his chance to take his place.
“He (Ward) always asks about Australia and about The Everest,” Magnier said.
“We want to make stallions down here and if we can get Golden Pal to come down here and run in the Everest and make a sire we’ll do it, but we’ve got to get Royal Ascot out of the way first.”
Coolmore and Ward will get a good line on Golden Pal’s The Everest credentials when he clashes with Nature Strip, a last-start winner of this year’s The Everest, in the King’s Stand Stakes on June 14.
Golden Pal warmed up for Royal Ascot, where he finished second in the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes (1000m) two years ago, with a brilliant 4-3/4-length win in the Group 2 Shakertown Stakes (1100m) at Keeneland on April 9.
A winner of six of his nine starts Golden Pal heads TAB’s King’s Stand Stakes market at $3 with Nature Strip a $4 chance.