Homebreds help Godolphin to leading breeder and owner titles in North America

Coming off a remarkably strong 2020 racing season with, eight Graded stakes wins and total earnings of more than $5.7 million that earned Godolphin an Eclipse statue as leading owner, Sheikh Mohammed's international racing operation remarkably more than doubled both these measures of success in 2021.

Godolphin took home dual Eclipse Awards for the season on Thursday, notching both leading owner and leading breeder honours.

For the year as an owner, Godolphin captured 84 wins and collected $17,401,604 in purses in North America. These statistics include 84 starts in Graded stakes in the United States and Canada that produced 23 victories and another 23 placed finishes.

All told, its Graded stakes winners earned more than $12.7m. This year's Eclipse Award is Godolphin's fifth, earned one year under the Darley brand.

Fuelling its stable were 100 homebred black-type performers worldwide, including eight that won Grade 1 stakes in North America. Three of these Grade 1 winners shone brightly at the Breeders' Cup at Del mar — Yibir won the Turf, Space Blues the Mile and Modern Games the Juvenile Turf.

Among Godolphin's North American-based runners, homebreds Essential Quality and Maxfield captured many of the headlines. Essential Quality, 2020's undefeated Eclipse champion two-year-old male by Tapit, matured into a five-time Graded stakes winner at three, with top shelf wins in the Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes.

Maxfield, a son of Darley Stallions' Street Sense, never finished off the board in seven starts. His four victories for the year came in the Clark Stakes, Stephen Foster Stakes, Alysheba Stakes and Mineshaft Stakes. Brad Cox trained Essential Quality, while Brendan Walsh guided Maxfield's campaign.

Homebred Mystic Guide made two of his three starts in 2021 in North America but his biggest score came last March in the $12m Dubai World Cup, which he won by three and three-quarter lengths. The Kentucky-bred son of Ghostzapper delivered to Sheikh Mohammed his ninth victory in the Dubai World Cup. Mystic Guide is trained by Mike Stidham.

Other Grade 1 winners campaigned by Godolphin in 2021 include Althiqa, who won the Just A Game Stakes and Diana Stakes; Albahr, who won the Summer Stakes; and Wild Beauty, who won the Natalma Stakes. Albahr and Wild Beauty won their Grade 1s on the same day at Woodbine. All three of these Grade 1 winners are also Godolphin homebreds.

Strength of Godolphin breeding programme on display
The Breeders' Cup provided an exclamation mark to Godolphin's championship year as an owner-breeder.

All three of the operation's winners were by Sheikh Mohammed's top European sire Dubawi. The stallion is also a Godolphin homebred by another homebred in Dubai Millennium, who won the Dubai World Cup in 2000.

Sheikh Mohammed's international operation bred 172 North American starters in 2021 that won 136 races and secured another 241 placed finishes. Collectively these runners earned $18,447,150 in prize-money. These strong results driven largely by 18 black-type stakes winners — 14 of them Graded stakes winners — earned Godolphin its second Eclipse Award as outstanding breeder.

Godolphin won its first title as outstanding breeder under its Darley brand in 2012, the same year it also received an Eclipse Award as outstanding owner.

Since 1974, six farms or owner-breeders have been honoured as both outstanding breeder and outstanding owner in a given year. The others are Harbor View Farm (1978), Ogden Phipps (1988), Frank Stronach/Stronach Stables/Adena Springs (2000, 2008), Juddmonte Farms (2003), and Ken and Sarah Ramsey (2013, 2014).

Godolphin faced formidable competition as outstanding breeder from Brad Kelley's Calumet Farm, which was represented by 470 wins, 13 black-type winners and earnings of $16,127,515; and Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, which was represented by 160 wins, 13 black-type winners and $13,188,853 in earnings. By number of Graded stakes wins, however, Godolphin dominated with 22 that included ten Grade 1 wins, six in Grade 2 stakes and six in Grade 3s.

Godolphin's US stallion operation is Darley Stallions at Jonabell Farm near Lexington, Kentucky, which stands 11 stallions. Essential Quality and Maxfield both enter stud there this year at $75,000 and $40,000 respectively.

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