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Godolphin’s return to the Australian yearling sale market in 2018 after an eight-year absence paid a huge dividend on Saturday when the regally-bred filly Exhilarates stormed to victory in the $2 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic at the Gold Coast.
Sheikh Mohammed commissioned his team to buy yearlings with top shelf pedigrees, the aim being to not only procure top class racing products but also secure fillies capable of instilling new bloodlines into the Darley breeding system.
Top of their list at the Magic Millions sale last January was a filly by Snitzel from More Than Ready’s dual Group One winner Samaready. Godolphin paid $600,000 for the filly, the first foal from Samaready and the most expensive of the eight lots they secured at that sale.The filly, offered by Vinery Stud, is now racing as Exhilarates and Godolphin got their return on Saturday when she won the MM Classic in brilliant style for her second win in five starts.
Quietly ridden by Kerrin McEvoy, Exhilarates let loose with a dazzling turn of speed from near last at the 400m to reel in the previously unbeaten colt Dubious (Not A Single Doubt) and last start Sydney winner Hightail (Written Tycoon) in the final 100m to give Godolphin young trainer James Cummings a most satisfying result.Exhilarates wins in emphatic style for in the 2YO Magic Millions Classic! pic.twitter.com/NFHtjqvTX2
— January 12, 2019
Samaready is a half-sister to the G2 winner Night War (General Nediym) and G2 placed Samartested (Testa Rossa) from the family of G1 winners Almalad and County Tyrone.
She has an All Too Hard yearling colt and was bred to I Am Invincible this season.Former Magic Millions boss and now Godolphin’s Australian manager Vin Cox was the catalyst for Sheikh Mohamed’s return to the buying arena in Australia.
Cox was still with Magic Millions in 2017 when he approached Sheikh Mohammed at the Dubai World Cup meeting at Meydan and made a pitch for the world’s biggest owner to star re-investing in Australian-bred yearlings.By the end of 2017 Cox had left Magic Millions to join the Godolphin team and the dye was cast for Godolphin to re-enter the yearling sale market.
"Sheikh Mohammed had faith in us to go back into the market and buy yearlings and we have landed the Magic Millions winner. It’s hugely satisfying,” Cox said."We needed to broaden our pedigrees. Darley is the biggest stud farm in Australia, we get a lot of support from breeders and we need to be participating at yearling sales.
“We just want to buy nice horses. We breed a lot ourselves so we don't need quantity.”Godolphin were active on the opening three days of the 2019 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale with four purchases including a son of Brazen Beau that fetched $625,000.
Godolphin added a Medaglia d'Oro colt out of dual G1 winner Miracles of Life for $1 million at the final session on Saturday night to finish Book 1 with five purchases for a total of $2.925 million.James Cummings, who was celebrating his 31st birthday on Saturday, joined his Hall of Fame grandfather Bart Cummings on the Magic Million Classic honour roll. Bart Cummings won the MM Classic twice with Malibu Magic (1989) and Mimi Lebrock (2007).
Cummings was quick to reflect on the approach Godolphin has taken to buying yearlings over the last 12 months.“We came back to the Magic Millions 12 months ago. Vin Cox set me the task to come back and win it this year and we’ve achieved that,” Cummings said.
“It shows that we have the system to buy the right ones.“This is only the start. We’re just thrilled to be involved in Australian racing and to be a real part of it by supporting Australian breeders.”
James Cummings acceptance speech after Exhilarates wins the Magic Millions 2YO Classic. pic.twitter.com/bsiS6H406S
— January 12, 2019
The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained runner-up Dubious took home an extra $325,000 prize being the first to finish eligible for the Magic Millions Racing Women Bonus. Others bonuses were paid to the connections of Champagne Boom ($100,000), Courseshewill ($50,000) and Gala Miss ($25,000).
• GODOLPHIN also enjoyed a return to the 2YO winning list in Melbourne on Saturday when the Exceed And Excel colt Microphone made an impressive debut at Flemington.Microphone is the first Godolphin two-year-old winner in Melbourne since Trenchant won the Gibson Carmichael Stakes at Flemington in July, 2016.
