Godolphin

Soft Whisper (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) was anything but subtle when delivering a seven-length tour-de-force in the Listed UAE 1000 Guineas at Meydan on Thursday night. Forwardly placed from the bell, the heavy favourite charged straight to the head of affairs and dueled with Heshmah (Kitten's Joy) who passed her leaving the chute. Poised in second, the filly always appeared full of run and reinsman Frankie Dettori was practically motionless as Soft Whisper ranged alongside Heshmah with less than 600 metres remaining. It was only a matter of how far from...

Althiqa (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) was a model of consistency for trainer Charlie Appleby last season at three, and she continued in that vein on seasonal debut at Meydan on Thursday while picking up a first pattern-race win in the G2 Cape Verdi. The winner of her lone 2-year-old start in May of 2019 before undergoing a wind surgery, Althiqa resurfaced in a seven-furlong novice event at Newmarket on June 14, which she won by 7 1/2 lengths. Returning 11 days later for the Listed Eternal Fillies' S. again over...

Meydan's G2 Cape Verdi is the highlight on the Dubai Wold Cup Carnival card on Jan. 28. Of the eight fillies and mares signed on to the one-mile feature, a quintet carry the Godolphin blue and the highest rated at 108 is the Group 3 winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Summer Romance (Ire) (Kingman {GB}). A listed winner at Newmarket as a juvenile, the Charlie Appleby charge won the G3 Princess Elizabeth S. at Epsom on July 4 and was last of six in the G1 Prix Rothschild after making...

Godolphin's Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) was officially named Longines World's Best Racehorse on Tuesday having been assessed to have posted the top two performances of 2020. His high mark of 130 was gained in the G1 Juddmonte International S. at York, which was also named Longines World's Best Horserace for the first time. The former Charlie Appleby trainee also recorded a mark of 127 in the G1 Hurworth Bloodstock Coronation Cup which, in a pandemic-disrupted season, was moved from Epsom to Newmarket. Bred by the Weld family's Springbank Way Stud...

The Newmarket Pony Academy (NPA), where young people can enjoy close contact with horses and ponies, will begin in April. Based at the British Racing School (BRS), the NPA is supported by The Sir Peter O'Sullevan Charitable Trust and Godolphin and has been working closely with local schools and the West Suffolk Council. The NPA will operate a range of programmes to meet the needs of different groups of young people. Some of the programmes offered are as follows: One-week courses for Year 6 pupils from local primary schools which...

The Week in Review, by Bill Finley After last year's GI Breeders' Cup Classic, it seemed that every horse that mattered had been retired and that 2021 was going to be a bleak year for the handicap ranks. But 23 days into the year, it is apparent that's not going to be the case. First, Charlatan (Speightstown) turned in a sizzling performance in his comeback race in the GI Runhappy Malibu S. and, exactly four weeks, later Knicks Go (Paynter) could not have won the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational...

Godolphin's Benbatl (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), a Group 1 winner in Australia, Germany and Dubai, will not compete in either the Dubai World Cup Carnival or the Saudi Cup. The 7-year-old entire will instead make his next appearance in Europe according to his trainer Saeed bin Suroor. The bay signed off last year with a third in the G2 Joel S. at Newmarket on Sept. 25. "Benbatl will not run in Dubai or Saudi Arabia this year--we'll keep him for a European campaign and look to get him out in May,"...

Off at debut odds of 39-5 in a loaded seven-furlong Gulfstream maiden Saturday afternoon, Godolphin's Prevalence (Medaglia d'Oro) turned in arguably the performance of the meet, streaking away to graduate by 8 1/2 eased-down lengths. Drawn six in a field of 11, the bay colt was away without incident and showed enough speed to gain the rail for Tyler Gaffalione, as Triple Crown winner Justify's half-brother Stage Raider (Pioneerof the Nile) also attended the pace from the three path. Prevalence eased to the front with a half-mile to travel, but...

World champion miler and leading French sire Slickly (Fr) (Linamix {Fr}-Slipstream Queen, by Conquistador Cielo) has died aged 25 at Haras du Logis. The grey had been pensioned from stud duties in 2019, having stood at stud at Logis since he retired to stud in 2003. Julian Ince, who has managed Slickly's stud career, said, 'Slickly has been a wonderful horse to have at Logis, and had a very loyal following among French breeders. He was the perfect sire for the French 'primes'--his stock could win as early juveniles and...

Land Of Legends (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) provided a throwback result in Thursday's G2 Al Fahidi Fort at Meydan, giving the once-prolific trainer and jockey combination of Saeed bin Suroor and Frankie Dettori-together responsible for so many big-race moments in Dubai--their first wins at the 2021 carnival. Unraced at two, Land Of Legends strung together three wins-a novice race and a pair of handicaps--in the summer of 2019. He managed a pair of seconds in handicap company going a mile on the turf at last year's carnival and had not been...

The Dubai World Cup Carnival gets underway at Meydan on Thursday with its traditional opener, the G2 Al Maktoum Challenge R1 going a mile on the dirt with a well-matched field of 11 lining up. Group 1 winner Capezzano (Bernardini) is the highest-rated of the bunch at 117, but the 7-year-old gelding isn't always straightforward. He beat Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}) by 9 1/2 lengths in the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge R3 two years ago before trailing him by 32 lengths when last in the G1 Dubai World Cup,...

The same week that Juddmonte Farms' owner and founder Khalid Abdullah passed away, the legendary outfit has a chance to take a step toward its long-sought first GI Kentucky Derby win when undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' Mandaloun (Into Mischief) goes postward as a likely favorite in the GIII Lecomte S. Saturday at Fair Grounds. The race kicks off the Louisiana oval's three-race Derby prep schedule, to be followed by the GII Risen Star S. and GII Louisiana Derby. Hammered down to 11-10 favoritism debuting Oct. 24 at Keeneland, the homebred...