Touch Gold
Encyclopedia
Touch Gold is an American
Thoroughbred
racehorse
best known as the winner of the Classic Belmont Stakes
in which he ended Silver Charm's
bid for the U.S.Triple Crown.
Sired by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
inductee Deputy Minister
, Touch Gold was out of the mare
Passing Mood, a daughter of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
inductee, Buckpasser
. A late foal born at the end of May, he was purchased by Frank Stronach
for $375,000 at the July 1995 Keeneland selected yearling sale
.
At age two, Touch Gold raced for his trainer Daniel J. Vella
at Woodbine Racetrack
in Toronto
Canada
. After winning a 6 furlong
maiden race, his best 1996 stakes results was a third in the Grey Stakes and a second in the Swynford Stakes
. Sent to race in the United States under new trainer David Hofmans
, three-year-old colt Touch Gold won a 6 furlong allowance race at Santa Anita Park
then at Keeneland Race Course won April's Lexington Stakes in which defeated a top three-year-old Smoke Glacken
by 8½ lengths.
Not entered in the Kentucky Derby
, Touch Gold competed in the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series, the Preakness Stakes
. At the start of the race, the colt stumbled but rallied to challenge the leaders until he tired in the homestretch. He still managed a very credible fourth place finish to winner Silver Charm
. He came out of the Preakness with a sore left front hoof but recovered enough to enter the Belmont Stakes three weeks later.
in 1978. His main opposition was expected to come from the entry of Touch Gold and Wild Rush, stretch-running Crypto Star, and Free House
who had finished third in the Derby and second in the Preakness. In the race, Touch Gold held a slim lead early on but relinquished it at the halfway mark. Coming into the top of the stretch he was sitting fourth, locked in behind a wall of horses running three-wide. Jockey Chris McCarron
was forced to swing Touch Gold to the far outside but down the stretch Silver Charm began to pull away for what seemed certain to be his crowning moment. But Touch Gold put on a tremendous drive in the last furlong to win by three-quarters of a length.
After his 1997 Belmont Stakes win, Touch Gold was sent to rest in California in order to allow his sore hoof time to heal. He eventually returned to win that year's Grade I Haskell Invitational Handicap
at Monmouth Park but in the fall's Breeders' Cup Classic
, he finished ninth and last. At age four in 1998, he raced four times, only going back to the track at the end of June when he won a one mile allowance race at Churchill Downs
in a time of 1:34, just one fifth of a second off the track record. His next best result came in October when he finished second in the Fayette Stakes
but again disappointed in the Breeders' Cup Classic with an eighth place finish in a ten-horse field.
Owned by a syndicate that includes Frank Stronach, Touch Gold stands at stud
at Adena Springs in Midway, Kentucky
. He sired four Grade I winners in his first two crops and in 2006 his son Royal Challenger won the Breeders' Stakes
, the third leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, and Seek Gold won the Grade I Stephen Foster Handicap
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
best known as the winner of the Classic Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
in which he ended Silver Charm's
Silver Charm
Silver Charm is an American Champion Thoroughbred race horse. Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Gary Stevens, Silver Charm will be remembered most for winning the 1997 Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes in the Triple Crown....
bid for the U.S.Triple Crown.
Sired by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....
inductee Deputy Minister
Deputy Minister (horse)
Deputy Minister was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred horse racing Champion. At age two, he won eight out of his nine starts and was voted the 1981 Sovereign and Eclipse Award winner as North American Champion 2-Yr-Old, and was also voted Canada's Sovereign Award for Horse of the Year...
, Touch Gold was out of the mare
Mare (horse)
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...
Passing Mood, a daughter of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
inductee, Buckpasser
Buckpasser
Buckpasser was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won he won nine of his eleven race starts for international record winnings for a two-year-old of $586,090. Buckpasser was leading broodmare sire in 1983, 1984 and 1989....
. A late foal born at the end of May, he was purchased by Frank Stronach
Frank Stronach
Frank Stronach, CM is an Austrian-Canadian businessman. He is the founder of Magna International, an international automotive parts company based in Aurora, Ontario, Canada, and Magna Entertainment Corp., which specializes in horse-racing entertainment...
for $375,000 at the July 1995 Keeneland selected yearling sale
Keeneland Sales
The Keeneland Sales is an American Thoroughbred auction house in Lexington, Kentucky founded in 1935 as a nonprofit racing/auction entity on 147 acres of farmland west of Lexington, which had been owned by Jack O. Keene...
.
At age two, Touch Gold raced for his trainer Daniel J. Vella
Daniel J. Vella
Daniel J. "Dan" Vella is a Canadian Champion Thoroughbred racehorse trainer.Dan Vella was introduced to Thoroughbred horse racing by an uncle who owned horses and, after graduating from High School, went to work at a racetrack in his native Toronto...
at Woodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack is a Canadian racetrack for Thoroughbred horse races located at 555 Rexdale Blvd. in the city of Toronto, Ontario. It is the only horseracing track in North America which stages, or is capable of staging, thoroughbred and standardbred horseracing programs on the same day...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. After winning a 6 furlong
Furlong
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....
maiden race, his best 1996 stakes results was a third in the Grey Stakes and a second in the Swynford Stakes
Swynford Stakes
Swynford Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late September at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. One of the track's top races for North American two-year-olds, it is raced on dirt over a distance of seven furlongs....
. Sent to race in the United States under new trainer David Hofmans
David Hofmans
David E. Hofmans is an American trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses. Born and raised in Los Angeles, as a boy his father brought him to watch horse racing at area tracks. While a student at Pasadena City College he became friends with Gary Jones...
, three-year-old colt Touch Gold won a 6 furlong allowance race at Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
then at Keeneland Race Course won April's Lexington Stakes in which defeated a top three-year-old Smoke Glacken
Smoke Glacken
Smoke Glacken is an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Sired by Two Punch, a son of the important sire, Mr. Prospector, his dam was Majesty's Crown, a daughter of Irish stakes winner Magesterial who was a son of Northern Dancer.Trained by Henry Carroll, at age two Smoke Glacken finished...
by 8½ lengths.
Not entered in the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
, Touch Gold competed in the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series, the Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
. At the start of the race, the colt stumbled but rallied to challenge the leaders until he tired in the homestretch. He still managed a very credible fourth place finish to winner Silver Charm
Silver Charm
Silver Charm is an American Champion Thoroughbred race horse. Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Gary Stevens, Silver Charm will be remembered most for winning the 1997 Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes in the Triple Crown....
. He came out of the Preakness with a sore left front hoof but recovered enough to enter the Belmont Stakes three weeks later.
1997 Belmont Stakes
Going into the 1997 Belmont Stakes, Silver Charm was favored to become the first Triple Crown winner since AffirmedAffirmed
Affirmed was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the eleventh and most recent winner of the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing...
in 1978. His main opposition was expected to come from the entry of Touch Gold and Wild Rush, stretch-running Crypto Star, and Free House
Free House (horse)
Free House was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that Blood-Horse Publications called one of the best California-bred horses of all time. A descendant of Nearco through both his sire and dam, he was bred and raced by John Toffan & Trudy McCaffery...
who had finished third in the Derby and second in the Preakness. In the race, Touch Gold held a slim lead early on but relinquished it at the halfway mark. Coming into the top of the stretch he was sitting fourth, locked in behind a wall of horses running three-wide. Jockey Chris McCarron
Chris McCarron
Christopher John "Chris" McCarron is a retired American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. He is currently working as a racing analyst for TVG Network....
was forced to swing Touch Gold to the far outside but down the stretch Silver Charm began to pull away for what seemed certain to be his crowning moment. But Touch Gold put on a tremendous drive in the last furlong to win by three-quarters of a length.
After his 1997 Belmont Stakes win, Touch Gold was sent to rest in California in order to allow his sore hoof time to heal. He eventually returned to win that year's Grade I Haskell Invitational Handicap
Haskell Invitational Handicap
The Resorts Casino & Hotel Haskell Invitational is an American Grade I race for thoroughbred horses. In 1968, the Board of Directors of Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey honored its former President and Chairman Amory L. Haskell with the Amory L. Haskell Handicap, a race for older...
at Monmouth Park but in the fall's Breeders' Cup Classic
Breeders' Cup Classic
The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 year olds and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships...
, he finished ninth and last. At age four in 1998, he raced four times, only going back to the track at the end of June when he won a one mile allowance race at Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
in a time of 1:34, just one fifth of a second off the track record. His next best result came in October when he finished second in the Fayette Stakes
Fayette Stakes
The Fayette Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in late October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. A Grade III event, it is open to horses age three and older. It is contested on Polytrack synthetic dirt and offers a purse of $150,000.The Fayette Stakes is named...
but again disappointed in the Breeders' Cup Classic with an eighth place finish in a ten-horse field.
Owned by a syndicate that includes Frank Stronach, Touch Gold stands at stud
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
at Adena Springs in Midway, Kentucky
Midway, Kentucky
Midway is a city in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. Its population was 1,620 at the 2000 census. It is located midway between Frankfort and Lexington along the single-track railroad between them. It is part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is home to a...
. He sired four Grade I winners in his first two crops and in 2006 his son Royal Challenger won the Breeders' Stakes
Breeders' Stakes
The Breeders' Stakes is a Canadian stakes race for Thoroughbred race horses first run in 1889. Since 1959 it has been the third race in the Canadian Triple Crown for three-year-olds...
, the third leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, and Seek Gold won the Grade I Stephen Foster Handicap
Stephen Foster Handicap
The Stephen Foster Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run in mid-June near the end of the Churchill Downs Spring Meet in Louisville, Kentucky...
.