- Touch Gold
Thoroughbred racehorse infobox
horsename = Touch Gold
caption =
sire = Deputy Minister
grandsire = Vice Regent
dam = Passing Mood
damsire =Buckpasser
sex = Stallion
foaled = 1994
country =United States flagicon|USA
colour = Bay
breeder = Holtsinger Inc.,Hill 'n' Dale Farms , Star Stable
owner =Stonerside Stable & Frank Stronach
trainer =Daniel J. Vella David Hofmans (at age 3)
record = 15: 6-3-1
earnings = $1,179,907
race =Lexington Stakes (1997)Haskell Invitational Handicap (1997)American Classic Race wins:
Belmont Stakes (1997)
awards=
honours =
updated= June 17, 2007Touch Gold (foaled May 26, 1994 in
Kentucky ) is an AmericanThoroughbred racehorse best known as the winner of the ClassicBelmont 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 byFrank Stronach for $375,000 at the July 1995 Keeneland selected yearling sale.At age two, Touch Gold raced for his trainer
Daniel J. Vella atWoodbine Racetrack inToronto Canada . After winning a 6furlong maiden race, his best 1996 stakes results was a third in the Grey Stakes and a second in theSwynford Stakes . Sent to race in the United States under new trainerDavid Hofmans , three-year-old colt Touch Gold won a 6 furlong allowance race atSanta Anita Park then atKeeneland won April'sLexington Stakes in which defeated a top three-year-oldSmoke Glacken by 8½ lengths.Not entered in the
Kentucky Derby , Touch Gold competed in the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series, thePreakness 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 winnerSilver Charm . 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
Affirmed 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. JockeyChris 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 atMonmouth Park but in the fall'sBreeders' 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 atChurchill 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 theFayette 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 inMidway, Kentucky . He sired four Grade I winners in his first two crops and in 2006 his sonRoyal Challenger won theBreeders' Stakes , the third leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, andSeek Gold won the Grade IStephen Foster Handicap .References
* [http://www.pedigreequery.com/touch+gold Touch Gold's pedigree and partial racing stats]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz2iIOn5mZ4 Video at YouTube of Touch Gold winning the 1997 Belmont Stakes]
* [http://www.adenastallions.com/stallions/stallion.aspx?id=10 Touch Gold at Adena Springs]
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