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Cody’s Wish Picks Up Right Where He Left Off

Making his first start since taking out last year's GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, Cody's Wish (Curlin) became the third Grade I winner of the weekend for Godolphin–each for a different trainer–with a worst-to-first victory in Saturday's GI Churchill Downs S. He completed a sweep of the day's seven-furlong events after Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile) caused a minor upset in the Derby City Distaff and was adding to the wide-trip success of 'TDN Rising Star' Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) in Friday's GI Longines Kentucky Oaks.

Back markers had been facing an uphill battle on Saturday's program beneath the Twin Spires, and Cody's Wish found himself at the tail of the field through the opening exchanges as Here Mi Song (Cross Traffic) slid up the fence and set the pace–albeit a modest :22.70 for the opening quarter-mile–in advance of fellow longshot Hoist The Gold (Mineshaft). Slipped a bit of rein by Junior Alvarado with just under four furlongs to race, Cody's Wish began to catch the eye, as he effortlessly rolled up three or four wide outside of Tejano Twist (Practical Joke) midway on the turn and was in full stride when heads were turned for home. Roused left-handed with three-sixteenths of a mile to travel, Cody's Wish inhaled Hoist The Gold before the eighth pole and shot clear to take his current winning streak to five. Tejano Twist closed off well to finish third. Here Mi Song finished fourth and was vanned off, according to the chart, but X-rays proved negative.

“With this horse winning, it's really way more than a horse race,” said Bill Mott, winning his first Grade I at Churchill since Country House (Lookin At Lucky) was put up in the Derby four years ago. “For us, I mean, Cody Dorman, and Cody's Wish, make it something special. When this horse came back after the race, and hearing the crowd, they were going crazy up there, more than they normally cheer for any other race. And the horse is just so great. He's been showing up every time. He's been off since the Breeders' Cup, but it sure looked like he was ready today.

“I get choked up easily, but when he was walking over, my assistant Kenny said he paused, and he looked, and said it was almost like there is a connection there. Usually we don't see that in horses. For whatever reason, the horse knows something is special.”

Pedigree Notes:

Cody's Wish's dam, a $67,000 graduate of the 2010 Keeneland September Sale, was purchased by John Ferguson on behalf of Godolphin for $750,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Florida Sale a handful of months later, and it proved a shrewd buy, as Dance Card won the 2012 GI Gazelle H. and was third to Groupie Doll (Bowman's Band) in the 2013 GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint before retiring to stud. A half-brother to MGSW Endorsed (Medaglia d'Oro), eighth in Saturday's race, Cody's Wish is kin to the 2-year-old colt Hunt Ball (Into Mischief) and a yearling filly by 2007 GI Kentucky Derby hero Street Sense. Dance Card was most recently bred to Gun Runner.

Saturday, Churchill Downs
CHURCHILL DOWNS S. PRESENTED BY FORD-GI, $750,000, Churchill Downs, 5-6, 4yo/up, 7f, 1:21.17, ft.
1–CODY'S WISH, 123, h, 5, by Curlin
               1st Dam: Dance Card (GISW, $502,200), by Tapit
               2nd Dam: Tempting Note, by Editor's Note
               3rd Dam: Tempt, by Devil's Bag
O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-William I. Mott; J-Junior Alvarado.
$446,400. Lifetime Record: 12-8-1-3, $1,778,530. *1/2 to
Endorsed (Medaglia d'Oro), MGSW, $964,133.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Hoist the Gold, 123, c, 4, Mineshaft–Tacit Approval, by Tapit.
($47,000 RNA Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Dream Team One Racing
Stable; B-Dream Team Racing (KY); T-Dallas Stewart. $144,000.
3–Tejano Twist, 123, g, 4, Practical Joke–Haley's Lolipop, by
Cuvee. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-JD Thoroughbreds LLC and
Davis, Joey Keith; B-Tom Durant (KY); T-Chris A. Hartman.
$72,000.
Margins: 4 3/4, HF, 3/4. Odds: 0.72, 10.10, 11.72.
Also Ran: Here Mi Song, Sir Alfred James, Get Her Number, Steal Sunshine, Endorsed, Fortin Hill. Scratched: C Z Rocket, White Abarrio. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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No Immediate Plans For Pretty Mischievous Following Oaks

'TDN Rising Star' Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) was none the worse for her tough-trip victory in Friday's GI Longines Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs as a group of onlookers congregated outside the barn of trainer Brendan Walsh Friday morning. It was a first win in America's premier race for the sophomore filly set for her owner/breeder Godolphin, Walsh, jockey Tyler Gaffalione and her all-conquering sire.

“We are very proud of what she has accomplished and it couldn't be more special winning this for Godolphin,” said Walsh, who spent many seasons working in Dubai for Sheikh Mohammed's team. “There are some big races that we'll look at coming up, but no decision has been made on her next start.”

Repole Stables' New York-bred Gambling Girl (Dialed In) covered herself in glory Friday afternoon, running on strongly to complete the Oaks exacta, the fifth filly to finish runner-up in the race for trainer Todd Pletcher to go along with his four winners.

“She was just excellent after the race,” Pletcher said. “She came out of it well.”

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Matareya Takes Derby City Distaff; Champ Goodnight Olive Endures Brutal Trip

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It was a tale of two trips as Godolphin homebred Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile) delivered a one-length victory over Wicked Halo (Gun Runner) in Saturday's GI Derby City Distaff to kick off the graded action on Kentucky Derby day at Churchill Downs. Heavily favored champion female sprinter Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) was a very unlucky third.

Godolphin was victorious with the Brendan Walsh-trained Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) in Friday's GI Kentucky Oaks. Sheikh Mohammed's operation and Matareya's trainer Brad Cox finished fourth with the Oaks beaten favorite Wet Paint (Blame).

“It was a very big effort,” Cox said. “I'm very proud of her. Flavien (Prat) did a really good job of getting her into position. There were some really good fillies in there.”

Matareya, off at odds of 5-1 in the six-horse field, sat a dream trip beneath Flavien Prat stalking from second. She gained command at the top of the lane and took care of business from there to secure her second career Grade I victory. Last year's GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint winner Goodnight Olive, meanwhile, found herself completely boxed in behind the winner while racing on the inside of Wicked Halo for the length of the stretch and never got a chance to run beneath jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr.

“I was stuck, the entire way,” Ortiz said. “I had no place to go. I couldn't get out of there. I had tons of horse, just no place to go.”

Matareya, winner of the GII Eight Belles S. on the Kentucky Oaks program last year, capped a four-race winning streak with her first win at the top level in the GI Acorn S. on Belmont Stakes day June 11. She concluded her sophomore campaign with a third-place finish as the big favorite over a good going in Saratoga's GI Test S. Aug. 6. She resurfaced to finish second to Wicked Halo after leading in the stretch over a muddy track last time in Oaklawn's Mar. 31 Matron S.

Pedigree Notes:

Matareya is one of four Grade I winners for her late sire Pioneerof the Nile. She is one 15 Grade I winners for broodmare sire Bernardini.

Matareya's Grade III-winning dam is a daughter of Golden Velvet, who was stakes-placed in France before adding a pair of graded victories and a runner-up effort in the 2008 GI Ogden Phipps H. Golden Velvet is a daughter of Harbor View Farm's outstanding turfer Caress, who was purchased by John Ferguson on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed's global operation for $3.1 million at the 2000 Keeneland November sale a handful of months after the mare foaled a Pulpit colt. That offspring, Sky Mesa ($750,000 KEESEP yearling), was raced by John Oxley to a victory in the GI Hopeful S. Caress is also the dam of Velvety (Bernardini), whose son MGISW Maxfield (Street Sense) closed out his career with a win in the GI Clark H. and now stands at Darley at Jonabell.

Innovative Idea is the dam of the unraced 3-year-old filly Methodology (Uncle Mo). She is also responsible for a yearling colt and a 2-year-old colt by the same stallion. She visited Curlin for 2023.

Saturday, Churchill Downs
DERBY CITY DISTAFF S. PRESENTED BY KENDALL-JACKSON WINERY-GI, $750,000, Churchill Downs, 5-6, 4yo/up, f/m, 7f, 1:21.87, ft.
1–MATAREYA, 123, f, 4, by Pioneerof the Nile
                1st Dam: Innovative Idea (GSW, $229,343),
                                by Bernardini
                2nd Dam: Golden Velvet, by Seeking the Gold
                3rd Dam: Caress, by Storm Cat
O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Flavien Prat. $460,350.
Lifetime Record: 11-6-3-1, $1,517,217. Werk Nick Rating:
A+++. *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Wicked Halo, 123, f, 4, by Gun Runner
1st Dam: Just Wicked (GSW, $208,460), by Tapit
2nd Dam: Wicked Deed, by Harlan's Holiday
3rd Dam: Marfa's Squall, by Marfa
O/B-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen.
$148,500.
3–Goodnight Olive, 123, m, 5, by Ghostzapper
1st Dam: Salty Strike (MGSW, $485,266), by Smart Strike
2nd Dam: Lake Huron, by Salt Lake
3rd Dam: My Rainbow, by Lyphard
($170,000 Ylg '19 FTKOCT). O-First Row Partners and Team
Hanley; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Chad
Brown. $74,250.
Margins: 1, 1, 3 1/4. Odds: 5.06, 3.74, 0.57.
Also Ran: Hot and Sultry, My Destiny, Travel Column.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Into Mischief Filly Gets First Oaks Win for Walsh, Godolphin and Gaffalione

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Godolphin homebred and 'TDN Rising Star' Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) stayed out of trouble with a perfect, stalking trip from her far outside draw and gamely fended off Repole Stable's Gambling Girl (Dialed In) in dramatic fashion to capture Friday's GI Kentucky Oaks.

Drawn widest of all in post 14 and adding blinkers for trainer Brendan Walsh after a runner-up finish in the GII Fair Grounds Oaks, Pretty Mischievous broke well beneath Tyler Gaffalione and secured a fantastic spot in fifth rounding the clubhouse turn before a sun-splashed crowd of 106,381 at Churchill Downs.

Traveling smartly in that same position as the speedy Sunland Park Oaks heroine Flying Connection (Nyquist) set sharp fractions of :23.07 and :46.96, the 10-1 shot began to unwind with a four-wide blitz on the far turn and narrowly stuck her white pair of Godolphin blinkers in front passing the quarter pole.

Pretty Mischievous spurted clear under several left handers from Gaffalione in the stretch and had just enough left in the tank to defeat the Todd Pletcher-trained last out GIII Gazelle S. runner-up by a neck. Pletcher and Repole, of course, will be very well-represented by Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby favorite Forte (Violence).

The Alys Look (Connect), a well-beaten third for Brad Cox in the Fair Grounds Oaks, was another 2 1/2 lengths back in third. Wet Paint (Blame), favored at 8-5 after sweeping Oaklawn Park's 3-year-old fillies prep series for Godolphin and Cox, closed from ninth to finish fourth.

It was a first Kentucky Oaks victory for Sheikh Mohammed's operation, Walsh and Gaffalione.

“We haven't won an Oaks before,” Godolphin's Michael Banahan said. “We've been second with a filly, and it seems like it was a long time ago with Little Belle. So, to come in here with two live chances, with two homebreds, I think it means everything to us.”

He continued, “Sheik Mohammed has developed a beautiful broodmare band here in the U.S. I think we are reaping the rewards with the horses we've had over the last couple of years. But to me, there's only the one Classic for fillies in the U.S. and that's today in the Oaks. And so to be able to win that just means everything.”

Walsh and Godolphin have previously teamed up on MGISWs Maxfield (Street Sense) and Santin (Distorted Humor).

“Obviously, I have had a very close association with them my whole life,” Walsh said. “I did nine winters in Dubai. I worked for them in Al Quoz as a rider. You know, when you're there and you're doing that, it was like working for an all-star team and getting on all-stars.”

Walsh continued, “And now to actually have the opportunity to train the all-stars is just, like, that's the stuff you dream of when you're a kid. If you want to be a footballer or a coach or whatever is to be around the very best. And it's just a great opportunity for me to be able to work with horses of this caliber.”

Gaffalione rode two Breeders' Cup winners at Keeneland last year and celebrated his first win in the Triple Crown series aboard War of Will (War Front) in the 2019 GI Preakness S. Gaffalione was also the previous regular rider of last year's champion 2-year-old filly Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief), who never factored in ninth in the Oaks.

“It's amazing. I feel so blessed,” Gaffalione said. “The trip worked out perfectly. I stayed out her way and she took me the whole way. What an incredible filly.”

Pretty Mischievous, a winner of her first two starts at Churchill Downs last fall, suffered her first career defeat finishing third in the GII Golden Rod S. beneath the Twin Spires Nov. 26. The bay enjoyed a fantastic winter at the Fair Grounds, annexing her first two career stakes victories in the Untapable S. Dec. 26 and the GII Rachel Alexandra S. Feb. 18. She looked like she was well on her way for a third straight win in the Fair Grounds Oaks, but, after hitting the front in the stretch, reported home 3 1/4 lengths behind the re-opposing Southlawn (Pioneerof the Nile). The latter finished a disappointing 10th with trouble in the Kentucky Oaks.

“This is the kind of thing you dream about, to win a Grade I, especially the Oaks at Churchill Downs, it's a long way from Cork in Ireland,” Walsh concluded. “It's indescribable, it's exactly what we're here for, and why these guys [Godolphin] breed these good horses, and why everybody works so hard.”

Pedigree Notes:

Will there be any heights left for Into Mischief to climb? Multiple leading sire titles: check. Breeders' Cup winners: check. Kentucky Derby winners: check. Seemingly one of the few holes on his CV was a Kentucky Oaks winner, but Pretty Mischievous took care of that. And perhaps, just perhaps, Into Mischief could become just the fifth sire to score a Derby-Oaks double in the same year, something that hasn't been done since Native Dancer sired the winners of both races 57 years ago. The Spendthrift sire has no fewer than three chances Saturday.

Pretty Mischievous is one of 130 black-type winners bred in the Northern Hemisphere for Into Mischief, who also has 63 graded winners, 17 at the top level, and seems to have no end to his prowess in sight. He is 18 this year, has his best books still in the pipeline, and could very well be on track to demolish just about every sire record in the books. Few stallions can keep Into Mischief's staggering pace of top horse after top horse, but if there's one, it's the Oaks winner's broodmare sire, Gainesway's Tapit. The two crossed have come up with five of the 85 stakes winners out of Tapit's daughters, including GSW and Oaks also-eligible Hoosier Philly and Saturday's GSW and Derby entrant Rocket Can.

The second foal for 2016 GI Spinaway S. winner Pretty City Dancer, who is a half to 2007 GI Gazelle S. winner Lear's Princess (Lear Fan), the Oaks winner was bred by Godolphin in Kentucky. Stroud Coleman Bloodstock acquired Pretty City Dancer on behalf of Godolphin for $3.5 million at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton November Sale while she was carrying her first foal, now the winning 4-year-old Medaglia d'Oro filly named Ornamental. The mare was barren to Uncle Mo for 2021, but has a Medaglia d'Oro yearling filly and a Street Sense filly born Mar. 28. As so many of the good ones do, Pretty City Dancer directly descends from blue hen La Troienne–her seventh dam–through the Businesslike branch. The Grade I race named after La Troienne was run on the Oaks undercard Friday and was, naturally, won by another daughter of Into Mischief, Played Hard. –by Jill Williams

Saturday, Churchill Downs
LONGINES KENTUCKY OAKS-GI, $1,250,000, Churchill Downs, 5-5, 3yo, f, 1 1/8m, 1:49.77, ft.
1–PRETTY MISCHIEVOUS, 121, f, 3, by Into Mischief
                1st Dam: Pretty City Dancer (GISW, $286,344), by Tapit
                2nd Dam: Pretty City, by Carson City
                3rd Dam: Pretty Special, by Riverman
1ST GRADE I WIN. 'TDN Rising Star'. O/B-Godolphin (KY);
T-Brendan P. Walsh; J-Tyler Gaffalione. $705,250. Lifetime
Record: 7-5-1-1, $1,206,560. Werk Nick Rating: A++.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Gambling Girl, 121, f, 3, by Dialed In
                1st Dam: Tulipmania, by Empire Maker
                2nd Dam: Eventail, by Lear Fan
                3rd Dam: Felicita, by Rubiano
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($200,000 Ylg '21 SARAUG). O-Repole
Stable; B-Gallagher's Stud (NY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $227,500.
3–The Alys Look, 121, f, 3, by Connect
                1st Dam: Foul Play, by Harlan's Holiday
                2nd Dam: Over the Edge, by Thunder Gulch
                3rd Dam: Cyber Cat, by Storm Cat
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($60,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Ike and Dawn
Thrash; B-G. Watts Humphrey (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $113,750.
Margins: NK, 2HF, NK. Odds: 10.37, 13.05, 30.28.
Also Ran: Wet Paint, Dorth Vader, Flying Connection, Defining Purpose, Mimi Kakushi, Wonder Wheel, Southlawn, Affirmative Lady, And Tell Me Nolies, Botanical, Promiseher America. Scratched: Hoosier Philly, Julia Shining, Taxed.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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