Godolphin

The cars scooting along on the nearby Pennsylvania Turnpike may have little from a speed standpoint on Saturday's GI Pennsylvania Derby in Northeast Philly, as the pace looks to be very much on and that could help those with stalking or closing ability in the final age-restricted Grade I of the season around two turns. But make no mistake: speed has been king--by and large--in the $1-million contest over the past dozen years or so. The Bob Baffert-trained Bayern (Offlee Wild)--next-out winner of a much-discussed GI Breeders' Cup Classic--future champion...

   In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This week's column is highlighted by the victory of Notable Speech at Woodbine. Dubawi Classic Winner Shines At Woodbine Godolphin homebred Notable Speech arrived late on the scene to take the GI Rogers Woodbine Mile for Charlie Appleby on September 13 (video). The son of Dubawi won the G1 2,000 Guineas last year and defeated older milers in the G1 Sussex Stakes. He is a son of the group-placed Swift Rose (Invincible...

Celebrating its 30th year, the Horse Farm Workers' Educational Assistance Fund has awarded 26 scholarships for 2025-26 to children of full-time horse farm workers in Central Kentucky. Some 808 annual scholarships have been awarded since the inception of the program, totaling $1,718,470. The Fund was founded by Rob Whiteley of Liberation Farm, Tom Evans of Trackside Farm and Fred Seitz of Brookdale Farm. Scholarships are granted for education or skill training after high school and are based upon financial need, merit, biographical essays and personal interviews. Scholarships are also available...

Roger Varian's new link-up with Godolphin is paying instant dividends with the promising Avicenna (Starspangledbanner) getting up late to capture Friday's Listed Flying Scotsman Stakes at Doncaster. Held up early by William Buick, the 11-2 shot who had won over course and distance on debut last month delivered a sustained effort down the wing to collar the 5-4 favourite Hankelow (Night Of Thunder) on the line. "He's a lovely horse and I'm very grateful to Sheikh Mohammed and the Godolphin team for supporting me with a few horses this year,"...

Godolphin homebred Quiet Street, a debut winner going 5 1/2 furlongs over the Saratoga lawn Aug. 13, powered to the lead late to take the $1-million Untapable Stakes at Kentucky Downs Sunday. The 2-1 shot settled off the pace early, tipped out to the center of the course for the stretch run and produced a quick turn of foot to garner the one-length victory. Serene, who was purchased by Godolphin for $800,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September sale, has a yearling colt by Uncle Mo and a weanling colt by...

Godolphin took home both the National Owner of the Year and National Breeder of the Year prizes at the 40th annual TOBA National Awards in Lexington, Kentucky, which were presented across two days of ceremonies, according to a press release from the organization on Saturday. The National Awards Luncheon honored 2024 state and Canadian breeders at Godolphin Sept. 5, while the 2024 National Awards Dinner was held at Fasig-Tipton Sept. 6. TOBA 2024 award winners included: National Owner of the Year and National Breeder of the Year: Godolphin; National Small...

Sunday's G2 Qatar Prix Niel looked the least-convincing on paper of all the Arc "trials" on the ParisLongchamp card and, while the times backed up that impression, few would count the improving Andre Fabre colt Cualificar (Lope De Vega) out for next month's feature. Up to a mile and a half for the first time, Godolphin's Prix du Jockey Club runner-up had to do it all late on as he was freed from the pack to master his peers but had the answers for William Buick to enter the fray...

Maxfield's first stakes winner as a freshman sire comes in as Max Ciao takes the I'm Smokin Stakes at Del Mar on Friday. Unveiled as a third-place finisher at Santa Anita May 25, the colt was fourth, beaten seven lengths, July 19 by Friday's 3-2 second choice Thirsty Rebel. Max Ciao found himself in the winners circle in career start number three, a six-length victor back here at Del Mar Aug. 8. In his first stakes try, the son of Maxfield broke alertly, stalking just over a length off the...

BADEN-BADEN, GERMANY - Gestüt Brümmerhof stole the show at the BBAG Yearling Sale for the second year running when Godolphin swooped in to land a Sea The Stars filly out of German 1,000 Guineas heroine Novemba (Gleneagles) for €750,000.  That sale represented continued support by Godolphin for the best stock that Germany has to offer given Anthony Stroud and his buying team bought Del Maro (Camelot) from Brummerhof for a record-breaking €850,000 here 12 months ago.  Bidding through BBAG boss Klaus Eulenberger, Godolphin held off the attention of Alex Elliott...

During July and August--the height of the summer racing season--graded races happen at a fast and furious rate. With 44 graded events at Saratoga alone added to another 13 tracks conducting at least one graded race during the two-month span, it's a dizzying time to follow top racing on the continent. We break down the main takeaways from the season. Two dozen of the 95 graded races in July and August were contested at the top level, or Grade I. Seventeen of those Grade Is were at Saratoga (or nearly...

Autumn plans for leading older horse Ombudsman are beginning to take shape, with a third clash with Delacroix (Dubawi) in the G1 Irish Champions Stakes all but ruled out in favour of an appearance on QIPCO British Champions Day. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the son of Night Of Thunder has been one of the star performers of the summer, having registered Group 1 victories in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes and Juddmonte International either side of a narrow defeat to Delacroix in the Coral-Eclipse. After gaining revenge on...

George Connolly is set to join Four Star Sales as a Bloodstock Sales Associate, the company announced Wednesday. From County Carlow, Ireland, Connolly grew up on his family's Burgage Stud, a successful National Hunt stallion farm that has produced multiple Grade 1 winners. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University College Dublin and was selected for the Godolphin Flying Start program - graduating with distinction in June 2025 as the leading student of his class. Connolly's early career has spanned top trainers, sales companies and stud farms around...