The status of Godolphin as a thoroughbred pre-wing in North America, if not the world, was not in question before Kentucky Derby. But, in horse races, even those at the top have something to continue.
The operation by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, based in Dubai, is on a four -year sequence as a winner of the Eclipse Prize for an exceptional breeder, bringing the operation to five global victories in this category. However, the circle of the winner of Kentucky Derby remained at the top of the still sleeping list of a territory Uncharted de Godolphin before this year's race.
Home sovereignty raised this burden of Godolphin's shoulders on Saturday, when it won over a troubled start, a sloppy track and a late battle with favorite journalism to win the first stage of the triple crown.
Formerly a lasting economic engine on the bench of the buyer at auction with flashy seven -digit purchases, Godolphin focused on the education of his own runners in recent years, and the success has been obvious.
In addition to sovereignty, Godolphin also sent the winner of Grade 1 East Avenue after this year's derby. The list of recent stars of the North American house also includes the Cody 2023 Cody wish and the essential quality of ECLIPSE prices, essential quality, rebellious romance, modern games and modern games and Yibir. Good Cheer is on the fast track to join this group after extending its record to a perfect seven for seven in the Kentucky Oaks.
The pedigree of sovereignty is paved by the two eras of Godolphin's investment in its program. Although he himself is an expert, sovereignty is outside the crowned Bernardini mare, which was bought by Godolphin for $ 1.2 million during the sale of the year of Keeneland 2014.
Crowned was a daughter of the winner of Grade Mushka, who was herself a seven-digit Yearling who again overshadowed this brand when she sold as a brooding prospect. Mushka could never live up to this billing as a producer, her most successful runner being WheNnthedawnbreaks, a Ghostzapper filly which won a challenge to Canterbury Park.
However, Mushka's foals were often commercial smashs. Crowned was his second seven -digit Yearling after Heyaarat exceeded the September 2012 sale at 1.65 million dollars.
“Crowned was a beautiful mare that we bought,” said Michael Banahan, director of Bloodstock at Godolphin USA, at the press conference after the Derby race. “Unfortunately, she had a few mailings, never really reached the racetrack.”
It was at this point that Banahan sold the ground to the coach of sovereignty Bill Mott, whose story with the foal's family goes even further than that of Godolphin.
“It makes him fun because I formed the third dam,” said Mott. “And the third dam had come out of a mare called Lakeway who won the Alabama (issues). And I was part of a team that bought it.
“His name was Sluice,” continued Mott, discussing the third dam of sovereignty. “She was out of Lakeway. I was able to train her and we won (Misty Isle Stakes) with her in Chicago. Then she produced a mare called Mushka, and I had the chance to be Mushka, and I actually trained it with two different owners. And we won the tournament (then Godolphin bought. Families and these generations of horses.
In the short term, crowned was an expensive failure. She did not pay a dollar of her massive price on the racetrack, even less the training and the veterinary invoices that she has started along the way.
However, she had a leading commercial pedigree and the support of a reproduction operation with the means to send it to any stallion superior to the world, including one of the elite bulls under his own Darley America banner. Godolphin does not sell his foals at auction, but crowned had the chance to return to his investment by producing runners more than herself.
Again, patience has poured dividends.
Crowned experienced the start of a covers' career promise, successfully producing a foal in only two of its first four seasons. The two were filths by the Father Record in misdeeds with forgetful racing records that entered the Broodmare Godolphin group after retiring from the track.
Although Godolphin presents himself a barn full of world class stallions, notably Medaglia d'Oro, Nyquist, Street Sense and Hard Spun, the operation was never afraid to reach out under his own umbrella to find the right games for their mares.
“We are very grateful to be able to have the opportunity that the boss allows us to raise large horses, as in a mischief too, as well as our own stallions,” said Banahan. “Having this opportunity to reproduce for whom we think we are the best stallions in Kentucky also gives us the chance to come to compete in this type of breed.”
When it was sent to Spotthrift Farm for coupling which produced sovereignty in 2021, Into Mischief had recently finished the second year of his sequence as the first father of North America by offspring gains which currently total six seasons and count.
“We have probably had a difficult start to try to understand what mares we have to send in a mischief, because we saw everyone having a huge success with him, and we could not get a winner of him,” said Banahan. “But ultimately, we arrived with fairly playful two years ago in the oaks. We had beautiful horses by him. This horse probably culminates in the best we had.”
“It's a wonderful stallion, as we know,” said Banahan. “A great influence of speed. But as we can see, if he gets the right mares, he can also obtain classic horses per kilometer and quarter.”
Saturday's race has given in Mischief his third winner of Kentucky Derby, with sovereignty joining the winner in 2020 Authentic and Mandaloun in 2021. This concluded a mischief in equality of five for the most winning of Derby History with Virgil, Falsetto, Sir Gallahad and Bull Lea.
Sovereignty would represent the final crossing between crowned and mischief. Crowed was raised without success to the Uncle Mo of Ashford Stud for the Pouliage season of 2023, and she produced a foal by Nyquist in 2024, but the mare was euthanical later that year due to complications of the laminite.
She did not live to see him, but between the gains of the triumph of the triumph of the derby of sovereignty and the lucrative costs that the Colt will probably collect when he withdraws from the stallion operation of Godolphin, crowned more than the price of the hammer which she ordered more than a decade.
