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| Staff Writer |
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It is truly remarkable to win a Breeders' Cup World Championship, and winning two in a single year is even more unbelievable. However, Sheikh Mohammed's international juggernaut, Godolphin, is once again poised to bring home multiple trophies, after achieving this remarkable feat for two years in a row.
Godolphin celebrated three victories at the 2021 Breeders' Cup with six horses competing. Modern Games Gr.1 Juvenile Turf, Space Blues Gr.1 Mile, and Yibir all came out on top. The previous year, the stable had nine starters, with Cody's Wish Gr.1 Dirt Mile, Mischief Magic Juvenile Turf Sprint, Gr.1, Modern Games (Mile), and Rebel's Romance (Turf) all winning.
Godolphin's eight homebred starters make it the owner with the most Breeders' Cup starters this year. Additionally, the stable is the leading breeder by number of starters with nine, including one co-bred with Machmer Hall. Godolphin's earnings for the year in North America are already at US$13,868,417, tracking ahead of last year's earnings. The stable could even surpass its personal best year of US$17.4 million in 2021.
Michael Banahan, director of bloodstock for Godolphin USA, expressed gratitude for the strong year and the contributions of new team players. Cody's Wish and Proxy are two older horses that have contributed to the year's success, with Cody's Wish earning US$1,253,900 and Proxy earning US$1,253,750 with a 2-2-0 record from six starts.
"We've been lucky enough that our older horses have held their form well or progressed again with the addition of a year. It doesn't always hold out," Banahan said. "There are horses that come back that you are very excited about but for one reason or another it doesn't work out. It is a big decision to keep them in training; not as easy as just saying let's give them another year. You have to think there is more green grass out there and look like we can enhance their résumés."
Cody's Wish and Proxy will both be retired to stud at Darley Stallions at Jonabell Farm in Lexington following the World Championships. Banahan refers to Cody's Wish as the "captain of our team" among the Breeders' Cup starters. This impressive bay, trained by Bill Mott, won two Group One races this year, including the Gr.1 Churchill Downs Stakes and Gr.1 Metropolitan Handicap. Although Mott attempted to stretch Cody's Wish out to 1 1/8 miles in the Gr.1 Whitney Stakes, the horse finished third in that race.
"It didn't work out for us in the Whitney, but he came back and went last to first in the Vosburgh (Stakes, G2), in a race that didn't really suit him," Banahan said. "It was so slow early on and he didn't break particularly well, but then he rolled home and he showed a lot of his greatness, putting them away at the end. I think there is plenty left there. He is training well and doing well."
Banahan has noted that there has been significant interest from breeders in Cody's Wish and Proxy, with Cody's Wish generating particularly high interest. Banahan attributes this to the horse's special connection to Cody Dorman, a teenager from Richmond, Kentucky who suffers from a rare genetic disorder called Wolf-Hirschorn syndrome. In 2018, Dorman visited Godolphin's Gainsborough Farm as part of a tour organized by the Make-a-Wish Foundation and Keeneland, where he formed a bond with an unnamed Curlin colt that Godolphin later named after him.
"Cody's Wish will be very popular because his story has a lot of legs. He is probably the most recognizable horse in training, and there are a lot of people excited about seeing him," Banahan said. "Proxy, though, is a particularly nice horse. I think when people see him in the flesh, they will be taken with him. We are equally excited about both of them."
Brendan Walsh's filly, Pretty Mischievous, is expected to start at 8-1 odds in the Gr.1 Breeders' Cup Distaff race, where she is one of four 3YOs participating. The impressive filly, sired by Into Mischief, has had a successful year with four wins, two second-place finishes, and three Group One wins in the Gr.1 Kentucky Oaks, Gr.1 Acorn Stakes, and Gr.1 Test Stakes. In her last race, the Gr.1 Cotillion Stakes, she finished a close second to Ceiling Crusher. Matareya, who is 6-1 in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Gr.1 Mare Sprint, is another horse that Banahan has high expectations for.
Pretty Mischievous after winning the Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park
"She has never really taken a break, but she seems to thrive on her racing," Banahan said. "Brendan has commented that the more you do with her, the better she gets. We thought after she won the Oaks, we would see her tail off in the summer but she has never let us down. She comes back from her races looking for more. When Brendan gives her an easy day then she is bucking and squealing the following day. It is a long year for these 3YOs, so it is interesting to see how they match up when they meet the older fillies. We expect her to run another big race."
In addition to Coaching Club American Oaks champion Wet Paint, Godolphin will also have a presence in the Distaff with the talented daughter of Blame returning from a 2 1/2-month break. Wet Paint's last race was in the Gr.1 Alabama Stakes on August 19, where she was narrowly defeated by Randomized. Meanwhile, Matareya, a 4YO filly sired by Pioneerof the Nile, has a strong record of three wins and three thirds at the seven-furlong distance of the Filly and Mare Sprint. She also defeated defending champion Goodnight Olive in the Gr.1 Derby City Distaff Stakes at Churchill Downs earlier this year.
"She has been in great form since running in the Ballerina and though she will have to step up again, she is a dual grade 1 winner and is training super," Banahan said. "We think she will run as good a race as she can. With the returning champion in there, it will be a tough race but we're glad to have her in there."
Matareya and Godolphin also benefit from the pedigree of the filly's broodmare sire, the late Bernardini, who has six Breeders' Cup starters to his name. Tapit, the sire of Cody's Wish and Pretty Mischievous, has the most with 13. Sheikh Mohammed, who bred and raced Bernardini under the Darley banner, had a successful career with the horse before retiring him to the Lexington farm. As a broodmare sire, Bernardini has established a remarkable reputation, with over 70 cumulative stakes winners to date. Among the leading North American broodmare sires, only Tapit and Empire Maker were born in the 21st century, with Bernardini being the youngest (born in 2003). Unfortunately, Bernardini passed away in 2021 at the age of 18 due to complications from laminitis.
"I don't think we have seen another horse at this stage of his career as a broodmare sire do what he has been doing," said Banahan. "He was a favorite with everyone at Godolphin for years from his exploits at the racetrack, when he was an outstanding 3YO, to then see the accomplishments of his runners. He seemed to have an affinity for Saratoga, especially the Travers. Now seeing that come through his daughters is very fulfilling. We had a nice Bernardini 2YO filly that won at Keeneland for Brad Cox, so that story will go on and on for awhile."
The other Godolphin Breeders' Cup starters include Master of The Seas and Mawj in the Mile category, and With The Moonlight in the Filly and Gr.1 Mare Turf.