Golden Glider

Trainer: Mark E. Casse Owner: Gary Barber, Manfred Conrad and Penny Conrad Jockey: Dylan Davis Best Beyer: 87 Record: 6-2-1-0

STRENGTHS: Consistency. Golden Glider has bought home checks in all six of his starts, including the four straight graded stakes he’s competed in since February. He exits the Peter Pan, and the race gives him the benefit of a start over the Belmont track. Golden Glider finished second to wire-to-wire winner We the People, who could go favored Saturday. Golden Glider is trained by Mark Casse, who won the Belmont Stakes in 2019 with another Peter Pan runner-up, Sir Winston. And the similarities don’t end there, as both horses won their maidens at Woodbine and competed in the Tampa Bay Derby and Blue Grass. Dylan Davis has the mount on Golden Glider and knows Belmont as he led the local standings heading into race week.

WEAKNESSES: He again must face We the People, who finished 10 1/4 lengths ahead of him in the Peter Pan. Golden Glider has yet to win on a wet track from three such starts, and the forecast calls for rain Saturday. He also will be picking up eight pounds off the Peter Pan, going from 118 to 126 due to the conditions of the Belmont Stakes. Golden Glider is still looking for his first stakes win, and he’s still looking to put up a Beyer Speed Figure of 90 or higher against some runners who have achieved triple-digit Beyers.

BETTING VALUE: Excellent. He could start as the longestpriced runner in the race and appears to be a horse with upside – and reasons to get the distance. – Mary Rampellini

SIRE: Horse of the Year Ghostzapper was a brilliant runner around both one and two turns, winning the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Classic as well as the Metropolitan Handicap and Vosburgh. He has proven similarly versatile as a sire. His top runners around two turns on dirt include Canadian classic winner and champion Shaman Ghost, winner of the Santa Anita Handicap at 1 1/4 miles and the Brooklyn at 1 1/2 miles, and 2021 Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide. Ghostzapper also is the sire of Canadian champions Holy Helena, Hunters Bay, and Theodora B., all multi-surface threats at middle to long distances; Grade 1 dirt-route winners Moreno and Molly Morgan; Eclipse Award champion female sprinter Judy the Beauty; Grade 1-winning sprinters Contested and Paulassilverlining; Guarana, a Grade 1 winner around both one and two turns; Grade 1-winning turf female Better Lucky; and Stately Victor, a Grade 1 winner on synthetic.

DAM: Golden Scarf, a maiden winner sprinting at Charles Town, is the dam of Glamanation, winner of the Shady Well Stakes sprinting on the synthetic main track at Woodbine and placed in three other stakes there. There is plenty of class and stamina in the extended family, which includes Belmont Stakes winner Touch Gold, Canadian Triple Crown winner and Horse of the Year With Approval, Canadian champion Serenading, Grade 1 winner and Belmont thirdplace finisher Brilliant Speed, and Grade 1 winner Haynesfield.

OUTLOOK: Golden Glider is by the brilliant Ghostzapper and out of a mare by sprint champion Orientate. However, there is much more stamina in this pedigree than at first glance. The main question might be what surface this colt will ultimately prefer. – Nicole Russo