Godolphin

Trainer Charlie Appleby is preparing a team of four for next weekend's Saudi Cup card: 3-year-olds Noble Truth (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) and Sovereign Prince (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) for the G3 Saudi Derby, Siskany (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) for the Red Sea Turf H. and Naval Crown (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) for the Turf Sprint. Noble Truth and Sovereign Prince will be trying the dirt for the first time, and Appleby said, "they have never raced on dirt before but judging by what we have seen in their gallops at home, they will...

Godolphin homebred Yibir (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) was part of trainer Charlie Appleby's incredible success with Transatlantic shippers in 2021, as he annexed the Jockey Club Derby Invitational S. before flying home late to take the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf against elder rivals. That was enough to lock up the champion turf male Eclipse on Thursday. 

Godolphin homebred Essential Quality (Tapit) was named an Eclipse Award champion for the second consecutive year, as last year's top juvenile male received champion 3-year-old male honors for a five-for-seven season that included victories in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S., GI Belmont S. and GI Runhappy Travers S. The Brad Cox trainee is starting his first year of stud duty at Darley. 

Godolphin enjoyed a banner year of racing in North America 2021 thanks to U.S.-based runners like Essential Quality (Tapit) and G1 Dubai World Cup hero Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper), plus a long list of successful shippers brought in from Europe. As such, Godophin took home its second consecutive Eclipse Award Thursday as outstanding owner (fifth overall counting one under the Darley banner), and its second as outstanding breeder. 

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Saturday's Insights features Thundersquall (GB), a son of G1SW Pleascach (Ire). 5.55 Kempton, Novice, £7,000, 3yo, 11f 219y (AWT) THUNDERSQUALL (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) is one of two Godolphin representatives from the Charlie Appleby stable to feature in this contest, with the son of the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas and...

Creative Flair (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) had always looked like a promising filly for Godolphin and Charlie Appleby last year at three, and she built on that promise on Friday at Meydan with a first pattern-race win in the G2 Balanchine S. A winner in her second of two starts at two, Creative Flair won on Royal Ascot Trials day before finishing second in the one-mile Listed Michael Seely Memorial S. at York. Creative Flair stepped up to 2000 metres to earn a first black-type victory in the Listed Abingdon S....

NEWMARKET, UK--There was a true blue feel to the first day of the Tattersalls February Sale, with the partial dispersal of Shadwell stock and a sizeable draft from Godolphin dominating the leader board and accounting for all five of the six-figure lots to have changed hands during a strong opening session. Barring 2018, when several members of the Ballymacoll Stud dispersal set new record prices for February, the average of 18,311gns was the highest seen at this sale, and was not far from double the figure set 12 months ago....

NEWMARKET, UK--Here we go again. Dry January has been consigned to the books and the sales world will be back in full flow from Thursday at Park Paddocks. The Tattersalls February Sale jumped up from one day to two five years ago and it shows no sign of reverting to its more compact format. Once withdrawals are taken into account, around 400 horses will pass through the ring, ranging from just-turned yearlings to horses in training and broodmares. They will be preceded by the TBA's annual stallion parade, featuring a...

Closing arguments were a late scratch Jan. 31 in the horse doping trial of veterinarian Dr. Seth Fishman being held in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. New York U.S. District Court Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil met the lawyers for both sides in the robing room, then called the jury into the courtroom and sent them home. She told the jurors to return to court Tuesday. "There has developed legal issues that need to be dealt with," Vyskocil told the jury of eight women and four men. But Fishman's absence in...

Lightly raced Speaker's Corner had earned some strong speed figures up to this point for a horse without a stakes win, and he kicked off his 4-year-old campaign auspiciously with a breakthrough tally in Florida. A second-out graduate in New York as a fall juvenile over a very salty bunch of future stakes runners (Caddo River, Greatest Honour, Miles D, Bourbonic and Original), Speaker's Corner resurfaced off the long lay-off to crush Saratoga allowance foes by open lengths. The GI Pennsylvania Derby next out perhaps proved too much too soon,...

• Ghaiyyath, the world champion and Horse of the Year by Dubawi, has had his first three foals hit the ground. They are: • A "big, strong colt" out of Diantha (Ire) (Dansili {GB}). The mare is owned by John Heffernan and Elec Bloodstock and is a half-sister to G2 Dante S. winner Thunderous (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}); • A half-brother to multiple stakes winner Global Giant (GB) (Shamardal) bred by Elysian Bloodstock; • A half-sister to two stakes performers out of Marywell (GB) (Selkirk) bred by Castle Paddock...

Real World (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) enjoyed an unbeaten European summer campaign last year for Godolphin and trainer Saeed bin Suroor, and he made a seamless transition into his 4-year-old season on Friday with a comfortable win in Meydan's featured G2 Zabeel Mile. A five-length debut winner at Chelmsford City at the back end of his 2-year-old season in 2020, Real World finished second in a Meydan conditions race just before the turn of the calendar before going on to run with credit at the carnival, finishing third at the...