Global Campaign to 'get ready for something bigger' in 2020 debut

Regally bred Global Campaign, the son of Curlin and sibling to Grade 1 winner Bolt d’Oro, never had the chance to run at that level himself last year when slowed by multiple foot issues.

Given the home stretch of the season off, however, the now-4-year-old Global Campaign can begin living up to high expectations on Saturday. It’s then that Sagamore Farm president Hunter Rankin said the colt will be entered for his season debut at Gulfstream Park.

“It’ll be a very tough race, I’m sure,” Rankin said of a seven-furlong allowance for non-winners of four races, “because there’s not a lot of places to run horses that are eligible for that condition right now. It’ll be a good test for him to see where we are and where we go from there.”

Trained by Stanley Hough, Global Campaign won his seven-furlong debut on Jan. 5, 2019, as well as an allowance optional claiming race at Gulfstream. A grabbed quarter in the Fountain of Youth (G2) resulted in his only off-the-board finish before Global Campaign rebounded to take the Peter Pan Stakes (G3) in May at Belmont Park.

Leading into the Ohio Derby (G3), Global Campaign also shed the frog on his foot. He scratched, the area rebuilt itself, and in the final start of his season, the colt finished third off the layoff in Saratoga’s Jim Dandy (G2).

Connections — Sagamore owns Global Campaign with WinStar Farm — offered plenty of turnout time with bone bruising a secondary issue stemming from the foot problem. All of that appears to have cleared itself through the winter, with Global Campaign showing a steady string of works dating back to Feb. 29.

“He acts like himself from before all that,” Rankin said. “He’s really training well. You never know how a horse develops from 3 to 4, but he’s matured a lot. He’s acting good so we’re going to go ahead and run him — hopefully get him ready for something bigger the next race.”

Stakes possibilities may await in late May or early June as tracks such as Churchill Downs and Belmont Park navigate racing behind closed doors amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Global Campaign won both his non-stakes starts wrapped up in the end. In the Peter Pan, the next-out Belmont Stakes hero Sir Winston was among those left in his wake. The board-hitting Jim Dandy performance came despite Global Campaign getting stuck wide on both turns.

“He’s a very exciting horse,” Rankin said. “You never know if they’re going to realize all that stuff you dream about for him. In terms of talent, he’s unlike anything else we have. He’s a different type of animal, but he’s got to prove that.

“What we see in the mornings doesn’t mean anything if you can’t show it in the afternoon.”

Entries will be taken for Global Campaign's return on Wednesday. It's listed in the condition book one race before the Unbridled Stakes, a new event for 3-year-olds in which Sagamore Farm is also expected to start Necker Island, another Hough trainee exiting finishes of fifth in the Swale (G3) and Gotham (G3) stakes.