Godolphin

In this series, we will have a look predominantly at American-bred first-time juvenile starters (through the end of 2025) and debuting 3-year-olds in maiden races at Meydan Racecourse, with a specific focus on pedigree and/or performance in a sales ring. The flagship venue for racing in the United Arab Emirates is Meydan Racecourse, which will host racing on Fridays through the end of March, with the exception of Super Saturday on Feb. 28 and Dubai World Cup night Mar. 28, 2026. Here are the horses of note for this Friday's...

1st-AQU, $85K, Msw, 2yo, f, 7f, 12:10 p.m. ET. POMERANCE (Curlin) brought $700,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling sale. Bred & owned by partners Jeff Drown and Don Rachel, the filly is out of MGSW Pomeroys Pistol (Pomeroy), who produced current sire Thousand Words (by Pioneerof the Nile) and Sweet Pistol (Smart Strike)--the dam of 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' & GISW Faiza (Girvin). The first-timer was sent to trainer Chad Brown. TJCIS PPS 10th-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 1m, 5:24 p.m. ET. An $800,000 buy during the Fasig-Tipton...

He did a lot of things wrong before and during Tuesday's G3 Prix Thomas Bryon, but ultimately Godolphin's Al Zanati (Dubawi) was able to impose himself on proceedings in the nick of time. Difficult to load and recalcitrant throughout the early stages as William Buick sought to tuck him in behind, the 3-5 favourite who had been runner-up in the G3 Autumn Stakes last month had to close wide in the straight. Knuckling down where it mattered, the homebred cut down compatriot Bourbon Blues (Space Blues) in the final stride for...

Laurelin (Ire) (Zarak {Fr}) has proven almost unbeatable through most of her career, that is until she ran into Lush Lips (GB) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}) last time out in the Oct. 11 GII Queen Elizabeth Cup at Keeneland and had to settle for second, 1 1/4 lengths behind the winner. Despite the disappointment of losing her unbeaten tag in her latest start, Laurelin lost none of her luster since the filly that beat her that day, Lush Lips, realized a staggering $3.7 million at the recently concluded Keeneland November Sale....

Godolphin's Tornado Alert (Too Darn Hot) has sustained a setback and will not contest the G2 Bahrain International Trophy on November 14, according to trainer Saeed bin Suroor. A winner of the G1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis Bayerisches Zuchtrennen in July, the three-year-old colt will instead point toward Dubai targets. He ran fourth in the G1 2000 Guineas, sixth in the G1 Derby and was runner-up in the G3 Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot prior to his German tally. Bin Suroor said, "He has had a small setback, no real problem,...

News needs to be special if it is going to knock the horses off the top spot, even for a short while, during Breeders' Cup week. The story which was able to do that was the announcement of Frankie Dettori's imminent retirement and his plans for the future. That is understandable because Frankie has been big news throughout his fabulous career. Arriving in Newmarket aged 14 in 1985 to join the stable of his compatriot Luca Cumani, Frankie was already an experienced and race-winning rider in Italy by the time...

Just two days after recording a first Group 1 winner, Ghaiyyath has another candidate for honours at the highest level after his well-related two-year-old son Nation's Hope delivered a stunning debut display in Monday's British EBF Future Stayers Maiden Stakes at Kempton to earn a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' rosette in the one-mile contest. Godolphin's homebred bay, a half-brother to multiple Grade I-winning globetrotter Nations Pride (Teofilo), outclassed 11 rivals to become the third Rising Star for his sire (by Dubawi) and joins G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches...

Some 90 minutes after Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) finished a brave second in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf, Godolphin's Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) came running at the fence with time ticking away and was along in time to prevail in the GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile at Del Mar. It was a fourth win in five years for Godolphin, jockey William Buick, trainer Charlie Appleby and the legendary Dubawi and came 12 months after Notable Speech finished a valiant third in a bid to run the Mile winning...

There have been some seriously unpredictable results in the 42-year history of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. Think Lashkari at 53-1 in the inaugural Breeders' Cup Mile in 1984. How about Arcangues at 133-1 in the '93 Classic up at Santa Anita? Spain at 55-1 at Churchill in 2000, Bar of Gold in the 2017 Filly & Mare Sprint right here at Del Mar, what of Order of Australia (Ire) at almost 70-1 at Keeneland in 2020. You get the picture. A little more than two months ago, Ethical Diamond...

Seven-pound apprentice Toby Moore, son of Ryan Moore, had been unsuccessful in five previous attempts and registered a first career win aboard Godolphin homebred Valdorcia (Oasis Dream) in division one of Wednesday's Unibet 2000 Sponsored Races At Kempton EBF Fillies' Novice Stakes at Kempton. Third over six furlongs in two prior starts at the Sunbury venue, the 7-4 second favourite shed maiden status with a 2 1/2-length defeat of Archer's Grace (Magna Grecia) in the seven-furlong contest. "I'd like to thank Charlie [Appleby] and the team," commented Moore. "The extra...

DEL MAR, Calif. -- Sovereignty (Into Mischief), the 6-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday's $7-million GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar, will be scratched. The news was first reported by Daily Racing Form's David Grening. The GI Kentucky Derby, GI Belmont Stakes and GI DraftKings Travers S. hero spiked a fever Monday evening after breezing four furlongs earlier that day. Treated with an anti-inflammatory, there was an outside chance that the Godolphin homebred could still make the race. That ended on Tuesday afternoon. "If it didn't go away, we...

DEL MAR, Calif. -- Sovereignty (Into Mischief), the imposing 6-5 morning line favorite for Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar, has spiked a fever and "there's a possibility that he won't make the race on Saturday," according to Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. "He had a slightly elevated temperature and that remained through the night," Mott said to a group of media assembled on the Del Mar backstretch during training hours Tuesday morning. "This morning at 5 a.m. and when we got here at 5:30 a.m., he...