Godolphin

The 2022 G2 Blue Point Sprint hero Lazuli (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) is back to defend his title for Godolphin and Charlie Appleby over this minimum trip on grass. Worth $180,000, the Blue Point is the 6-year-old gelding's second run of the season after defeating Man Of Promise (Into Mischief) in the Listed Ertijaal Dubai Dash on opening day of the 2023 Dubai World Cup Carnival. "Lazuli is tried and tested over five furlongs at Meydan and this is his optimum trip," said Appleby. "He is in great form and, even...

It's early-February and already the Flat enthusiasts are getting excited about what stallion will end the season as champion first-season sire. A futile exercise, one would have thought? Not a bit of it. Even the greatest handlers of young stock, Malcolm Bastard, Alan McCabe, Joseph O'Brien, Conor Hoban and Dick Brabazon, men who know better than most the folly that comes with predicting 2-year-old talent, are keen to have their say on which up-and-coming stallion can make the biggest splash this season.  O'Brien is sticking loyal to Ten Sovereigns (Ire)...

Not many things last for 20 years these days. We live in a fast world, filled with quick fixes, often with little thought for longevity and sustainability. But still, there is great comfort to be found in a constant that stands up to the vagaries of time. One such example, which has steadfastly served our own industry for the past two decades is Godolphin Flying Start; the two-year scholarship which, every year, fully immerses 12 young enthusiasts into the Thoroughbred world on a global scale with the aim of creating...

Only four horses in the history of the Dubai World Cup Carnival have managed to win the first two rounds of the Al Maktoum Challenge in the same year, with the last of the four, North America (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), completing the double in 2019. Hamdan Sultan Ali Alsabousi's Algiers (Ire) (Shamardal) could be number five, as he leaves from stall eight under James Doyle in Friday's G2 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 Presented By Emaar. The Simon and Ed Crisford charge blitzed the competition by 6 1/2 lengths when...

Dubawi (Ire) (Dubai Millennium {GB}) led all sires in the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association's (TBA) annual Flat statistical based awards. The awards, calculated from racecourse results throughout the calendar year, include both British and Irish statistics for British-based stallions and breeders. All five awards will be presented at the annual TBA Flat Breeders' Awards Evening which will take place at Chippenham Park on Wednesday, 12 July. The BBA Silver Cigar Box, which is awarded to Britain's leading sire by earnings over the calendar year, was reclaimed from Frankel (GB). The 21-year-old...

From the first time he first set foot on the racetrack in late 2020, Lemon Pop (Lemon Drop Kid) has always hinted at top ability, and the beautifully bred 5-year-old scooped the first major prize of his career with a hard-fought victory in Sunday's G3 Negishi S., a stepping-stone to the G1 February S. in three weeks' time. Away awkwardly from the 13 hole, the $70,000 Keeneland November weanling purchase on behalf of Godolphin improved to race in the second flight of horses about three away from the inside for...

Naval Power (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) added another tick in the win column with a stalk-and-pounce triumph in Meydan's Listed Jumeirah Classic Presented By Longines on Friday. Punching the breeze from his wide draw, he was content to let One Nation (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) take the lead for the opening quarter mile. Eventually steered back through the field to get some cover, the hooded bay revved back up by the 500-metre mark and arrived with his run at the 300-metre pole. It took him until the 50-metre mark to collar One...

4th-Meydan, Cond, $100,000, 3yo, f, 7fT, 1:26.21, sf. MAWJ (IRE) (f, 3, Exceed And Excel {Aus}--Modern Ideals {GB}, by New Approach {Ire}), named a 'TDN Rising Star' after winning her May 14 Newmarket novice by 4 3/4 lengths, went on to take the G2 Duchess Of Cambridge S. two starts later and ended her juvenile season with a third in the G1 Cheveley Park S. in her fifth start. Perched out wide in an ideal stalking position, she tackled longtime leader Alseyoob (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) at the quarter...

Both Regal Glory and Modern Games (Ire) won Grade I races to close out 2022, as the former heads to the breeding shed, while the latter looks to return this year. REGAL GLORY In discussing the rationale for keeping 'TDN Rising Star' Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom) in training for a 6-year-old campaign following her victory in Keeneland's GI Jenny Wiley S., trainer Chad Brown recalled a conversation with owner Peter Brant. Said Brown, "I probably would have bred her and he said, 'No, she's in good form and I want...

The Dubai World Cup Carnival enters its fourth week and the card is anchored by the 1600-metre $150,000 G3 Firebreak S. Presented By Longines. Trainers Bhupat Seemar and Doug Watson field three entries apiece in the eight-horse field. Godolphin-bred but Naser Askar-owned Law Of Peace (GB) (Shamardal) is aiming to take his winning streak to four, and will be the mount of Tadhg O'Shea from stall eight. Four of his five wins have occurred in the desert, two over track and trip, and the 6-year-old is coming off a career...

We're still in the early part of the season where the rankings are largely based on juvenile form and a hefty dose of speculation. As we segue into February, the forecast calls for "frost heaves" that will likely shift the balance of power just enough to keep things interesting. But at 15 weeks out, everyone on the GI Kentucky Derby trail is still allowed to dream big. 1) ARABIAN KNIGHT (c, Uncle Mo--Borealis Night, by Astrology) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Corser Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales...

Gold Square LLC's MGISW Cyberknife (Gun Runner), last seen finishing a narrow second to Cody's Wish (Curlin) in the GI Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, is scheduled to make the final start of his racing career Saturday at Gulfstream Park as the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational. The Pegasus World Cup will headline a 13-race program also featuring the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational, the GIII TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf, and four other graded-stakes races totaling $5.3 million...