Godolphin

If last week's Saudi Cup card in Riyadh was dominated by Japanese-trained runners, then Super Saturday at Meydan was the day that Charlie Appleby and Godolphin served notice to the world that this is a team which will take some stopping in the weeks and months to come. At a meeting which is ostensibly made up of trials for Dubai World Cup night in five weeks' time, it was two winners with Classic pretensions back in Europe who arguably created the biggest impression, certainly so in the case of Ruling...

RULING COURT (c, 3, Justify--Inchargeofme {GB}, by High Chaparral {Ire}) looked a colt potentially out of the very top drawer as he ran out an emphatic winner of the Listed Jumeirah 2,000 Guineas at Meydan, completing a four-timer on Super Saturday for William Buick, Charlie Appleby and Godolphin. The 'TDN Rising Star', who topped last year's Arqana May Breeze-up Sale when bought for €2,300,000, had only two rivals behind him as Nedawy (Instagrand) took the field along him in the early stages, before making rapid headway to lead entering the...

Saturday's Listed Jumeirah 1000 Guineas saw the same one-two-three finishers as the Jan. 31 Mawj Stakes at Meydan, which kicked off Dubai's Super Saturday programme. Godolphin's MOUNTAIN BREEZE (IRE) (f, 3, Lope De Vega {Ire}--Lava Flow {Ire}, by Dalakhani {Ire}) settled in the box seat, before overwhelming game pacesetter Octans (Spa) (The Grey Gatsby {Ire}) inside the final quarter mile to win going away under William Buick. Lhakpa (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) closed to take third. The final time for the 1600 metres over good turf was 1:38.06. The Godolphin homebred...

1st-GP, $94K, Msw, 3yo, f, 7f, 11:30 p.m. ET. LA NEIGE (Frosted) makes her first start for Connie and Richard Snyder. The Riley Mott trainee is out of unraced French Passport (Elusive Quality) who was acquired by Cover Springs for $200,000 at the 2018 Keeneland November Sale. The first-time starter counts as a half-sister GI Alabama and GI Ogden Phipps heroine Randomized (Nyquist). French Passport is a herself a half-sister to MGSW Smooth Air (Smooth Jazz), GSW & sire Overdriven (Tale of the Cat), and the dam of MGISW Got...

Dual Grade I winner Panty Raid (Include--Adventurous Di, by Private Account) has been euthanized due to the infirmities of old age, according to a Godolphin post on X Wednesday. She was 21. A debut winner by 7 3/4 lengths for owner Glencrest Farm at Saratoga in the summer of her 2-year-old season, the Todd Pletcher trainee later added victories in Pimlico's GII Black-Eyed Susan Stakes and the grassy GI American Oaks Invitational at Hollywood Park. She also won the GI Spinster Stakes on the dirt in the fall of her...

Those thinking that lightning can't strike twice may have to think again after Godolphin's TDN Rising Star Opera Ballo (Ire) (Ghaiyyath {Ire}--Dubai Opera {GB}, by Invincible Spirit {Ire}) trod a familiar path for Charlie Appleby at Kempton on Wednesday evening. Introduced in the same course-and-distance maiden last month won in 2024 by the yard's subsequent 2,000 Guineas hero Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), the €600,000 Arqana Deauville August graduate had not let the side down with an emphatic 8 1/2-length success on that occasion and was duly sent off the...

Godolphin's First Resort (Uncle Mo), winner of the GII Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes last November, has been forced off the Triple Crown trail by a hairline fracture in his left hock, according to trainer Eoin Harty. The news was first reported by Daily Racing Form's Dave Grening. First Resort was expected to make his sophomore debut in Saturday's John Battaglia Stakes, but was scratched out of that race when when Harty noticed stiffness in that left leg following a work at Turfway Feb. 18. The injury is not expected to...

Godolphin's First Resort (Uncle Mo) will scratch from Saturday's $175,000 John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway Park after exiting a workout earlier this week with stiffness in his left hind leg, according to trainer Eoin Harty. The 2-1 morning-line favorite was set to make his 3-year-old debut following a victory in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club last fall at Churchill Downs. He worked a half-mile in :51.20 (8/11) at Turfway Tuesday. "I worked him (Tuesday), and by Wednesday he was a little stiff behind," Harty said. "He hasn't really improved, so we're...

Keeneland's 101st running of the $1.25 million GI Toyota Blue Grass on Saturday, Apr. 5 has attracted 133 nominees, including champion Citizen Bull (Into Mischief), according to a release on Thursday from the track. With a $250,000 purse increase this year, the Blue Grass joins the GI Coolmore Turf Mile as Keeneland's two $1.25 million races, which are the richest in track history. The Turf Mile reached that level during the 2024 Fall Meet. "Keeneland is proud of the enhanced stature of the Toyota Blue Grass, and we thank the...

Okay, so possibly Magnitude (Not This Time) won't ever do anything quite like that again. But let's enjoy the moment, at least, and relish the sheer theater of his GII Risen Star performance--much, for instance, as people did the astounding sophomore debut of Dr. Carter in 1984. He had won two of seven previous starts; Magnitude, two of six. But even though so unpressured that he won by 17 lengths, Dr. Carter equalled the Hialeah track record. Their trainer John Veitch declared him better than Alydar. The stage was set...

Godolphin's ever-dependable Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) brought up the 16th victory of his globetrotting career with a second consecutive win in Sunday's US$2.5-million G3 H.H. The Amir Trophy, the showpiece event in the Qatari racing calendar. This year's renewal was run at the Al Uqda Equestrian Complex, and a day later than planned, after the original fixture at Al Rayyan on Saturday was postponed due to concerns about the safety of the track. The race was also run over the shorter distance of 2,300 metres (from 2,400 metres), but...

Only briefly giving her backers worry, Good Cheer (f, 3, Medgalia d'Oro--Wedding Toast, by Street Sense) rolled home the easiest of winners in the GII Rachel Alexandra Stakes and claimed 25 points toward the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. On a four-race win streak which started last August in her debut at Horseshoe Indianapolis, the Godolphin homebred followed that effort up with a 17-length victory against allowance runners at Churchill Downs and never slowed down from there. Claiming the Listed Rags to Riches Stakes Oct. 27 and the GII Golden...