Following a season where the Godolphin operation took home the Eclipse Award as outstanding owner, the blue team has set a blistering pace on its quest to collect its second trophy as outstanding breeder.
Godolphin leads all breeders with five North American graded stakes winners through March 9, all homebreds, with the most recent addition Micheline, who took the Grade 2 Hillsborough Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on March 6.
It was the seasonal debut for the 4-year-old Bernardini filly, and her first career graded stakes win after several close calls in previous campaigns. She is out of the multiple Grade 1-winning Include mare Panty Raid.
Champion Essential Quality, made his seasonal debut a winning one with a powerful drive down the sloppy Oaklawn Park stretch to win the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes by 4 1/4 lengths on Feb. 27. He is a son of Tapit, out of the Grade 3-placed Elusive Quality mare Delightful Quality.
Godolphin has a strong pair of 4-year-old colts at the top of the older male division, in Maxfield and Mystic Guide.
Maxfield, a son of Street Sense, shined in his first start of the season with a four-wide rally on Feb. 13 to win the G3 Mineshaft Stakes at the Fair Grounds.
He is out of the winning Bernardini mare Velvety, who raced as a Godolphin homebred in England.
Mystic Guide added his name to the fold with a dominant performance in the G3 Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 27, drawing off to win by six lengths over a sloppy sealed track.
Mystic Guide is also out of a mare that competed under the Godolphin colors in Music Note, a daughter of A.P. Indy who picked up five Grade 1 wins over the course of her career.
Rounding out the group was Antoinette, a 4-year-old daughter of Hard Spun who also won her seasonal bow with an effortless front-running triumph in the G3 The Very One Stakes, also on Feb. 27.
Another multi-generational member of the Godolphin breeding program, Antoinette is out of the Godolphin-homebred Elusive Quality mare Shuruq, who was a group stakes winner in the UAE and Turkey.
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