Every racehorse carries a name, but few carry a story like hers. Wondergirl Carly was named for a young girl whose father was facing brain cancer — a quiet tribute from Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, whose Go Go Greys Stable signed for the filly with a $650,000 bid at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale. Bred in Kentucky by Walking L Thoroughbreds and Fest Miles, she arrived with a pedigree built to match the price tag: by Gun Runner, the 2017 Horse of the Year and Breeders' Cup Classic winner now ranked among North America's most coveted stallions, out of the Cosmonaut mare Wonderment.

Then came the wait. Medical setbacks pushed her debut well past the usual two- and three-year-old timeline, and for nearly two years she was a name on a stall door rather than a runner on a card. When trainer Lindsay Schultz finally sent her postward — on October 20, 2025, in a six-furlong maiden special weight at Parx Racing — she answered every question that had built up around her. Stalking the pace three wide under jockey Samuel Marin, she swept the far turn, took command into the stretch, and drew off under only moderate urging to win by roughly four and a half lengths. It was the first victory in Go Go Greys Stable's history, and it announced a filly whose long-deferred career had, at last, properly begun.

Sources:

• Wondergirl Carly — Horse Racing Nation

• Portnoy-owned Wondergirl Carly wins debut at Parx

• Wondergirl Carly — Equibase

• Wonderment (dam) — BloodHorse