The green, white, and gold got it done at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 9, when Golden Tornado won in his first start for Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck), and Legendary Thoroughbreds.
A graduate of Georgia Tech University, Dean Reeves named the colt after a long-dormant nickname for the university's football team, a suggestion that came from a corner of the racing world that one might not expect to be up on obscure United States football monikers.
"Tom Pritchard-Gordon's children sent me an email that said that I should name a horse 'Golden Tornado,'" Reeves said. "And I'm thinking, 'How did those kids in Europe know about Georgia Tech?'"
Pritchard-Gordon is a partner in Badger Bloodstock, based in England and founded by his father in 2002. While Reeves might still be in the dark about how they came up with the name, those kids definitely have bragging rights about naming a first-out Saratoga winner.
Bred by Gainesway Thoroughbreds, Golden Tornado is by Gainesway stallion McKinzie (Street Sense ), who stood the 2025 season for $75,000 and is ranked second by earnings on the North American second-crop sire list, the position in which he finished as a first-crop stallion last year. Reeves Thoroughbred Racing paid $475,000 for the bay colt at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Gainesway purchased the colt's stakes-placed dam, Ruby Trust, for $180,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. In 2022, she produced an Authentic colt that sold for $1,000,000 to Resolute Bloodstock at the 2024 OBS March sale of 2-year-olds in training.
Now in the care of trainer Brad Cox, Verifire is 3-for-3, winning on debut by 6 1/4 lengths at Colonial Downs in March. He bested that performance by a quarter of a length at Pimlico in May, and most recently he won the listed Maxfield Stakes at Churchill Downs by 2 3/4 lengths.
"We always liked (Golden Tornado) a lot," said Brian Graves, Gainesway general manager, of which Antony Beck is chairman, "and Mr. Beck is always keen to stay in if there's an opportunity. McKinzie is taking off, and Golden Tornado is a half to a horse that's hinting around at being good."
James Gladwell, manager of Top Line Sales, and trainer Danny Gargan worked the Keeneland sale for the Reeveses, selecting the colt from the Gainesway consignment.
"I wasn't there, and I have a lot of respect for what Jimmy picks out," said Dean Reeves. "Danny liked the horse, too, and he had some first-time buyers that wanted to get started in horse racing. They took a small piece, and when Mr. Beck wanted to come in, that made me feel pretty good about what we were doing."
Both Dean and Patti Reeves were decked out in green, reflecting their stable colors of green, gold, and white, which echo the gold and white of Georgia Tech.
"It's a shout-out to my Yellowjackets," said Dean, referring to the Georgia Tech sporting mascot.
Ridden in his debut by Joel Rosario, Golden Tornado broke from post 6 and stalked favored Oscar's Hope until the final turn of the 6-furlong race over a fast track. It was essentially a two-horse race from there, with Golden Tornado taking over at the eighth pole and drawing off to win by 3 1/4 lengths.
"This is a nice horse," said Dean Reeves. "We really had some high hopes coming in here, but they have to prove it. This is Saratoga. You don't come in here and not get it done."
