Posts Tagged ‘Godolphin’

By Ray Paulick
It should come as no surprise that Sheikh Mohammed is the leading owner of American Graded Stakes winners in 2009 through his Darley and Goldophin racing stables. The ruler of Dubai has invested far more money in his international racing and breeding operation than anyone else in the world, and his American stable has performed exceedingly well this year.

If the Darley and Godolphin Stables are combined, Sheikh Mohammed would be the leading owner by money won, according to Equibase (click here for the list), with earnings of just over $7.5 million. However, they are separate stables and are listed separately in the standings, Darley ranking third behind Mike Gill and Zayat Stables and Godolphin 12th.

But there are a few more American Graded Stakes on the racing calendar, starting this weekend with the Breeders’ Cup. When all the dust settles, I anticipate Darley and Godolphin to have an even more dominating position in the American Graded Stakes standings than they do today.

It was a quiet weekend for 3-year-old racing and yet the Paulick Derby Index already had its first shake-up. In only our second week, potential superstar Dunkirk  jumped toward the front of the line, even garnering a first place vote. After an impressive win in a Gulfstream allowance race last Thursday, He makes his first appearance on the PDI by jumping straight to fourth on the list of leading Kentucky Derby contenders. Other impressive risers were Desert Party who took over the fifth position and The Pamplemousse whose strong workouts have allowed him to make his debut in the 12 hole.

A few additional voters have come on-board in this, our second week, in what is now the most comprehensive Derby poll available anywhere. We would like to take this opportunity to welcome Richard Eng, Andy Serling, Lisa Grimm, Jessica Chapel, Valerie Grash and Todd Schrupp to the roster of voters. You can see their ballots along with all the other participants at the bottom of this page. And most importantly, we have also allowed the racing public, including industry professionals, owners and breeders, and racing fans, to have their say through our Paulick Derby Index poll on our front page. The ballot is finalized by 10 pm EST Monday so if you were too late to have your vote counted, remember to make sure you don’t miss out the following weeks.

A special thanks to ESPN.com for making the Paulick Derby Index part of their ongoing horse racing coverage, starting this week.

RAY’S PICKS AND ANALYSIS

1. Pioneerof The Nile. Five-furlong workout in 1:00 3/5 at Santa Anita on Feb. 22 indicates Bob Baffert-trained son of Empire Maker is on his game. Here’s what clocker Toby Turrell of Horseplayerpro.com had to say about the Zayat Stables runner: “Pioneerof The Nile…worked in company with stakes-sort stablemate Ten Churros. The keys to the work were the fractions set by the big, gangly colt, and the manner in which he disposed of his workmate — once again on cue inside the sixteenth pole. First, the splits from my watch were :13 4/5, :26, :38 2/5, :50 2/5, 1:13 4/5 and a gallop-out time of 1:26-2/5. Those splits make this a huge move on the watch alone. But what also stands out and stamps this colt as the real deal was the ease of the final quarter-mile, not to mention the responsiveness of the colt to the signals being given by regular pilot Garrett Gomez, who was in the saddle. Off of this work alone, Pioneerof The Nile could easily be moved up any Kentucky Derby top ten list! He was visually striking this morning over a very kind and cushioned Pro Ride surface.” 

Thanks, Toby, but I can’t move this guy up any farther!

2. Old Fashioned. Quiet week after President’s Day win at Oaklawn Park in the Southwest Stakes for unbeaten Unbridled’s Song colt. My biggest concern remains the relative lack of depth in competition he will have faced at Oaklawn Park this spring, and there is a very good chance he’ll arrive at Churchill Downs unbeaten.for trainer Larry Jones and owner Rick Porter.

3. Stardom Bound. IEAH’s Tapit filly worked five furlongs in 1:00 1/5 Feb. 22 in what Horseplayerpro.com clocker Toby Turrell called a “maintenance drill.” Here are Turrell’s comments:”The final three-eighths clicked off my watch in :35 3/5, with the last furlong in :11 4/5. Her athleticism came shining through, hitting the ground with total efficiency through the stretch.I would call this a healthy and productive maintenance drill, and add that she is dead-fit, continuing to gallop with nice energy.” March 7 Santa Anita Oaks is next and then she may try colts for first time.

4. Friesan Fire. A.P. Indy colt keeps firing away for Larry Jones and Vinery Stable. I don’t know that there’s a lot of improvement left in this one, but he rates highly off his existing form. March 14 Louisiana Derby is next.

5. Desert Party. Currently the strongest of the Godolphin group, Street Cry colt has picked up some additional admirers off that recent UAE Two Thousand Guineas win over Vineyard Haven and others. I would continue to follow jockey Frankie Dettori’s lead on which of the Dubai-based 3-year-olds has the best chance.

6. Patena. Seeking the Gold colt working well as new trainer Rick Dutrow gets him ready for first start under IEAH colors. Will know a whole more about this one after March 14 Louisiana Derby.

7. Midshipman. Champion 2-year-old of 2008 being readied for first start in Dubai on March 5 for trainer Saeed bin Suroor. As with a number of past juvenile champs, I have to wonder if this son of Unbridled’s Song will continue to progress or merely was a more precocious colt than his contemporaries early in his career.

8. Vineyard Haven. Will have to wait to see how this talented son of Lido Palace does in his second start in Dubai. My biggest concern is whether he has the pedigree to get the mile and a quarter of the Derby.

9. Beethoven. Will need to put in a strong showing in the Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth Stakes this weekend for trainer John Ward. Workout pattern hasn’t built a great deal of confidence in the Sky Mesa colt, but Ward has never been a believer in firing bullet work after bullet work.

10. Giant Oak. Could this be the sucker horse of the Top 10? Son of Giant’s Causeway seems to find traffic trouble in his starts, and there’s no guarantee that with a clean trip he’s ever going to put things together for a win.

This week’s talking horse was Dunkirk, who did look good beating an allowance field at Gulfstream Park, but I’m just not quite ready to anoint him as the second coming off that victory. The Derby Trail is historically littered with late bloomers that didn’t live up to the hype. Are the rules of engagement changing for the Derby, meaning a horse that didn’t race as a 2-year-old can win America’s most famous horse race?We know that hasn’t happened since long before the Cubs won their last World Series in 1908. Curlin came close, but didn’t win, and I’m going to let it happen a couple of times before I’m ready to discard the importance of good 2-year-old form.

By Ray Paulick
Desert Party won Thursday night’s UAE 2000 Guineas at Nad Al Sheba racecourse in Dubai, rallying from just off the pace under Lanfranco Dettori to score an "under wraps"  victory over Regal Ransom and pacesetter Redding Colliery. Vineyard Haven, winner of the Hopeful and Champagne Stakes last year and runner-up to Midshipman in Eclipse Award voting, finished a distant fourth in his first start in Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin silks. The son of Lido Palace had previously been owned by a partnership that included trainer Robert Frankel and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre before a reported $12-million offer from the ruler of Dubai.

The winner was making his second start in Dubai for trainer Saeed bin Suroor, coming off a half-length win Jan. 22 in the Ford Flex Trophy, a prep for the Grade 3 UAE 2000 Guineas. A 3-year-old son of Street Cry out of Sage Cat, by Tabasco Cat, Desert Party began his career in the United States for trainer Eoin Harty,  breaking his maiden on Polytrack at Arlington Park in June, then beating three horses in the Grade 2 Sanford on a muddy Saratoga dirt track July 24. Desert Party finished a well beaten sixth behind Vineyard Haven in Saratoga’s Hopeful. Bred in Kentucky by David Smith and Steven Sinatra, Desert Party was a $2.1 million purchase at Fasig-Tipton’s February sale of 2-year-olds in training at Calder after Paul Pompa had purchased him for $425,000 at the 2007 Keeneland September yearling sale.

Runner-up Regal Ransom, a $675,000 purchase at the same Calder 2-year-old sale, broke his maiden at Saratoga in August but finished eighth in the Grade 1 Norfolk in his only other U.S. start. He also ran second to Desert Party in the Ford Flex, his first race in Dubai.

Vineyard Haven, purchased privately after  winning the Champagne Stakes by  5 3/4 lengths, appeared a bit rank in the early going while racing to the outside and just off the early lead of Redding Colliery. He failed to respond when asked by jockey T.E. Durcan and was never a threat down the stretch of the one-turn, one-mile contest.

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