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| Staff Writer |
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Godolphin had a remarkable year in North America, which has now been acknowledged by the inclusion of Cody's Wish, Mawj, Pretty Mischievous, and Master Of The Seas as finalists for the prestigious 2023 Eclipse Awards.
In 2023, Cody's Wish won four out of five races, including top-level victories in the Churchill Downs Stakes, Met Mile, and a successful defense of his Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile title. As a result, he has been nominated in the Older Dirt Male and Male Sprinter categories, with the possibility of being a contender for the Horse of the Year award. The finalists for this prestigious award will be announced at the ceremony on 25th January. Cody's Wish is trained by Bill Mott.
Mawj, the half-sister of last year's Champion Male Turf Horse Modern Games, is a finalist in the Female Turf Horse and 3YO Filly divisions. She lost just one out of five races in 2023, including a win in the 1,000 Guineas in May and a victory in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland in October. Trained by Saeed bin Suroor, Mawj was narrowly defeated in the Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita by Master Of The Seas.
Pretty Mischievous, trained by Brendan Walsh, won the Kentucky Oaks and completed a hat-trick of Gr.1 wins in the Acorn Stakes and Test Stakes. She is a finalist in the 3YO Filly category, alongside Mawj.
Master Of The Seas, the son of Dubawi, won the Breeders' Cup Mile, dominated the Woodbine Mile, and was narrowly beaten in the Coolmore Turf Mile at Keeneland. He is a contender to win the Male Turf Horse award for Charlie Appleby, who has won this award for the past two years with Yibir and Modern Games.
Godolphin is a finalist in the Champion Owner and Champion Breeder categories, having won both awards in 2021 and 2022. Horses in the royal blue silks won more than US$17.2m in prize money in North America in 2023, with homebreds responsible for 26 out of 27 Graded Stakes wins.