Tag: Mawj (Ire)

Godolphin’s Classic Heroine Mawj Retired From Racing

Last year's brilliant G1 1,000 Guineas winner Mawj (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) has been retired, Godolphin announced on Wednesday. She will now join the operation's broodmare band having failed to sparkle on what proved to be her final racecourse appearance when finishing last of the nine runners in last month's G1 Jebel Hatta at Meydan.

Trained by Saeed bin Suroor, Mawj was a high-class juvenile when her victories included the G2 Duchess Of Cambridge S. at Newmarket's July Festival. Last season, she won twice in Dubai before gaining the most prestigious success of her career when defeating the hitherto unbeaten Tahiyra (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the 1,000 Guineas, ultimately getting the verdict by half a length following a sustained duel between the pair.

That Classic victory on the Rowley Mile was followed by a five-month spell on the sidelines due to a setback, but Mawj proved all her ability remained intact when returning with two good efforts stateside in the autumn, first winning the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. at Keeneland before suffering a narrow defeat to Master Of The Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita.

Mawj's Keeneland win was a 500th in Group company for Bin Suroor, who paid tribute to his stable star on Wednesday when saying, “Mawj is a very special filly, who showed her brilliance throughout her racing career. It was a fantastic day when she won the 1,000 Guineas and I was especially pleased that it was her who provided me with my 500th Group race victory out in Keeneland.

“She proved herself against the best horses across the world, winning in Dubai, the UK and the United States as well as finishing second in a Breeders' Cup Mile. Everyone at Al Quoz and Godolphin Stables is going to miss her but we look forward to the next stage of her life as a broodmare.”

Mawj joins her dam Modern Ideals (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), who is proving a notable broodmare for Godolphin having also produced the Listed winner/Group 3-placed Modern News (GB) (Shamardal) and the five-time Group 1 winner Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi). Modern Games, who notably won at the Breeders' Cup in successive years when landing the GI Juvenile Turf in 2021 and GI Mile in 2022, stands for £30,000 in his first year at Dalham Hall Stud in 2024.

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Classic Winner Mawj to Winter in Dubai

Classic winner Mawj (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) will be prepared for a winter campaign in Dubai, trainer Saeed bin Suroor said. The 3-year-old filly, who won the G1 1000 Guineas at Newmarket in May and the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland last month, finished second in Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Mile behind Master of the Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}).

“She ran a huge race and we thought she was going to win, but she was beaten by a good horse, also a Godolphin horse, and I'm happy for Charlie [Appleby],” bin Suroor commented. “Our filly is tough and hard and it was the first time she ran with the colts. She proved herself good enough to be with them.

“Oisin [Murphy] gave her a very good ride, he did everything right and she ran a huge race. Now she is going back to Dubai and we'll try and find a race for her, maybe the [G1] Jebel Hatta and then the [G1] Dubai Turf. After that we'll find races for her in the UK and Europe. I think a mile is her best trip, but sometimes it can be hard to find races for her. I know she won over nine furlongs at Keeneland, but at the mile I think she is at her best.”

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Making Waves: Memorable Moment For Godolphin Classic Winner

   In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This week's column is highlighted by the victory of Mawj in the GI Queen Elizabeth II Cup S. presented by Dixiana Farms at Keeneland last weekend.

 

Classic Filly Comes Good At Keeneland

Godolphin homebred Mawj (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), already a winner of the G1 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, doubled her top-level tally in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. at Keeneland on Saturday and gave trainer Saeed bin Suroor his 500th group/graded win in the process (video).

A half-sister to Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), an Eclipse Award champion in the U.S. and soon to be a Darley stallion, as well as the stakes winner Modern News (GB) (Shamardal) who was twice group placed, Mawj is followed by a juvenile filly by Mastercraftsman (Ire) and a weanling filly by Dubawi. Her dam is a half-sister to G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner and sire Ultra (Ire) (Manduro {Ger}), and her great granddam is the Italian champion Proskona (Mr. Prospector).

One of 18 worldwide Group 1 winners for her former Darley reverse shuttle sire, Mawj is one of three Grade I winners in the U.S. after GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner-turned-sire Outstrip (GB) and Mischief Magic (Ire), who landed the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. Exceed And Excel's 42 Stateside runners have resulted in 23 winners (55%) and 11 stakes winners (26%).

 

 

Luck O' The Irish For Ten Sovereigns Colt

Robert and Lawana Low's Irish Gent (Ire) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}) became the 24th winner for his sire at third asking when taking an off-turf affair during the Belmont at the Big A meeting for trainer Todd Pletcher (video).

Bred by Denis McCarthy, the dark bay made €130,000 as a Goffs November foal when purchased by Pier House Stud. his value rose appreciably to €500,000 when he was sent back through that ring during the Orby Sale, where Jacob West picked out the son of Indigo Butterfly (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) on behalf of the Lows. The third and last reported foal from his dam is a relative of G1 Jebel Hatta hero Dream Castle (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and that gelding's full-sister With The Moonlight (Ire), who was a three-time group/graded winner and third in the GI E. P. Taylor S.

Coolmore's Ten Sovereigns already has three stakes winners in his first crop of 2-year-olds internationally. Represented by just three runners in the U.S. so far, Irish Gent is the stallion's first American winner.

 

Brant Runner Collects In New York

Peter Brant homebred Francesco Clemente (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) won a Belmont at the Big A contest for Chad Brown on Thursday (video).

A winner of his first three starts for John and Thady Gosden in the UK last year, the White Birch Farm-bred earned black-type with a second in the Listed Festival S. in May. The half-brother to the multiple stakes winner and multiple group-placed Abingdon (Street Cry {Ire}) was switched to the U.S. after a start in the Listed Wolferton S. at Royal Ascot. His dam Justlookdon'touch (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is a half-sister to the influential champion Islington (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), and produced Dubawi full-siblings as her latest foals–a 3-year-old colt named Howeitat (Ire) and a 2-year-old filly christened Birkin (Ire).

Darley's Dubawi now has 37 winners from 77 runners in the U.S. (48%). His 19 North American stakes winners (25%) are anchored by three-time Grade I winner In Italian (GB).

The post Making Waves: Memorable Moment For Godolphin Classic Winner appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Pat Day Joins The TDN Writers’ Room Podcast

Just a few days removed from his 70th birthday, Pat Day joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to talk his career, what he's been up to since retiring in 2005 and, most of all, the Breeders' Cup. Day rode Wild Again to victory in the inaugural GI Breeders' Cup Classic in 1984 and it was an historic win that helped turn the future Hall of Famer into one of the biggest stars in the sport. Day was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week.

“What that race meant for my career was monumental,” Day said. “First of all, let me back up. In January of 84, that was when I came to Christ. I was a stone alcoholic and a drug addict and was still highly successful in the midst of that. On January 27th of 1984, I accepted Christ into my life and got set free from that addictive lifestyle. I recognized that God had blessed me with tremendous talent and ability and opportunities and I started treating that with the respect that it deserved. Subsequently, I had an incredible year capped by the victory with Wild Again in the inaugural Breeders' Cup. That helped secure my first of four Eclipse Awards. I don't know that you could put a price on just what that did for my career. It was tremendous and catapulted me to the next level. I started getting opportunities after that to participate in the major races all over the country and to ride some of the top choices in those races.

If the Wild Again win was Day's top Breeders' Cup moment, his loss to Sunday Silence aboard Easy Goer in the 1989 Classic was surely his worst.

“When they came off the turn, Easy Goer was slow to change leads,” Day said. “He finally did. When he did, he caught on and accelerated, but obviously it was too little, too late. There was just so much hanging in the balance. The Eclipse Award for top 3-year-old. Horse of the Year. There were some tremendous accolades that hung in the balance. That Breeders' Cup was hard and the second hardest pill to swallow with him would have been the Preakness. I think I rode a horrible race and I think that I cost him the race in the Preakness. Easy Goer was a great horse. The best I ever rode. I know the record doesn't reflect it but I still think he was better than Sunday Silence.”

Who was his toughest opponent?

“Day in and day out, the smartest, strongest rider I rode against on a regular basis was Jerry Bailey,” Day said. “He would draw up a game plan and he was able to implement that game plan just about every time.”

Who was the most competitive rider he ever went up against?

“With that subject, Angel Cordero's name always comes up,” he said. “We would laughingly say he could ride two or three horses in a race. Angel, I love you, man. He was an astute handicapper. And if he handicapped the race and he felt that you had the horse to beat, he was going to beat you. He felt like if he beat you he would win the race. He was very competitive.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by 1/ST Racing, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, WinStar Farm, the KTOB, XBTV and West Point Thoroughbreds, the team of Zoe Cadman, Randy Moss and Bill Finley discussed Frankie Dettori's decision to postpone his retirement and focus on U.S. racing in 2024 and the GI Kentucky Derby. The team agreed that Dettori, who has been riding in top form this year, deserved at least one more year. Finley predicted he might decide to keep riding for two or three more years. They also reviewed last week's action which included a win by European shipper Mawj (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) in the GI Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup S. at Keeneland and the ultra-impressive win by City of Troy (Justify) in the G1 Dewhurst S. at Newmarket.

To watch the Writers' Room, click here. To view the show as a podcast, click here.

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