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Golden Goal Up To The Challenge

Dale Brennan's Golden Goal (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) indicated he could be rounding into his best form at age seven last year with a second-place finish in the G2 Godolphin Mile. Making his second start since in Friday's G2 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1, he fulfilled that prophecy with a near gate-to-wire, 1 1/2-length victory.

Joining Doug Watson after winning twice in Britain at three for trainer Saeed bin Suroor, the £240,000 yearling Golden Goal made just two starts in both 2019 and 2020, winning once the former season and finishing second both times in the latter. Despite being a lightly raced 7-year-old, Golden Goal began to hint that he was coming into his own last season, winning at first asking going seven furlongs on the dirt before being beaten three lengths in fifth at the handicap level and 3 1/4 lengths when fourth in the G3 Burj Nahaar before his Godolphin Mile second. Golden Goal warmed up for this with a fourth-place finish in the Listed Dubai Creek Mile on Dec. 16.

Breaking on terms from the inside gate, Golden Goal gradually worked his way to the front under Sam Hitchcott. He briefly held the lead before Secret Ambition (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) moved to poke his nose in front in the three path, the pair split by Marie's Diamond (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}). With that rival prematurely packing it in, it was Secret Ambition who held a slightly advantage in the two path rounding the turn with Golden Goal hugging the fence. Golden Goal got his head in front upon straightening and though Secret Ambition remained a game rival through the lane, Golden Goal at last stole clear inside the final furlong, finding the wire 1 1/2 lengths the better of Secret Ambition with the previously unbeaten 4-year-old Kafoo (Curlin) making up ground late to be third.

Pedigree Notes

Golden Goal is a half-brother to three winners including the listed-placed Rosie's Premiere (Ire), now the dam of the Listed Prix Marchand d'Or winner and dual Group 3-placed Louliana (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) and the listed-placed Rose Premium (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). His second dam, the listed-placed Kelsey Rose (GB) (Most Welcome {GB}), is the dam of another evergreen black-type-winning son of Dark Angel in Sovereign Debt (Ire) as well as the G3 Fred Darling S. winner Puff (Ire) (Camacho {GB}). It is the extended family of the G2 Mill Reef S. winner and sire Indian Rocket (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}).

Friday, Meydan, Britain
AL MAKTOUM CHALLENGE R1 PRESENTED BY NAKHEEL-G2, $250,000, Meydan, 1-14, 3yo/up, 8f, 1:37.90, fs.
1–GOLDEN GOAL (IRE), 126, g, 8, by Dark Angel (Ire)
1st Dam: Golden Rosie (Ire), by Exceed and Excel (Aus)
2nd Dam: Kelsey Rose (GB), by Most Welcome (GB)
3rd Dam: Duxyana (Ire), by Cyrano de Bergerac (Ire)
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (£240,000 Ylg '15
DBSPRM). O-Dale Brennan; B-Yeomanstown Stud (IRE); T-Doug
Watson; J-Sam Hitchcott. $150,000. Lifetime Record: 16-6-3-1,
$431,234. *1/2 to Rosie's Premiere (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}),
SP-Eng. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk
Nick Rating: A+.
2–Secret Ambition (GB), 126, h, 9, Exceed and Excel (Aus)–
Inner Secret, by Singspiel (Ire). O-Nasir Askar; B-Darley (GB);
T-Bhupat Seemar. $50,000.
3–Kafoo, 126, c, 4, Curlin–Blind Luck, by Pollard's Vision.
($250,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Sheikh Mohammad bin Khalifa Al
Maktoum; B-Mark Dedomenico (KY); T-Bhupat Seemar.
$25,000.
Margins: 1HF, 3 1/4, 3/4. Also Ran: Thegreatcollection, Salute the Soldier (Ger), Imperial Empire (GB), Avant Garde, Kimbear, Eastern World (Ire), Midnight Sands, Marie's Diamond (Ire), Hypothetical (Ire), Capezzano, Syrtis (GB). Click for the Racing Post result. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO.

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Lord Grimthorpe Appointed Racing Manager To Imad Al Sagar

Lord 'Teddy' Grimthorpe has been appointed as racing manager to Imad Al Sagar, whose Blue Diamond Stud has recently undergone a major restructure.

A widely respected figure in the racing world who last November took on the role of chairman of the National Stud, Grimthorpe was racing manager for more than 20 years to Prince Khalid Abdullah of Juddmonte Farms, who died a year ago this week.

Grimthorpe has replaced Tony Nerses and will begin in his new position in February. In addition to his National Stud role, he is also deputy senior steward of The Jockey Club and on the board of York Racecourse, where he held the position of chairman for nine years at the track as Chairman.

Alongside Grimthorpe, Ted Voute will also join the Blue Diamond Stud team as interim chief executive officer while continuing his duties at Eydon Hall Farm and as racing and bloodstock advisor to Prince Faisal's Nawara Stud. He will fulfil the role until a permanent CEO is appointed.

“We have taken the opportunity to restructure our team at Blue Diamond Stud for 2022 and are delighted to welcome Teddy Grimthorpe as Racing Manager,” said Imad Al Sagar. “Tony Nerses was a major contributor to the growth and success of Blue Diamond Stud and we wish him all the best in his future endeavours.

“Teddy is a widely respected racing figure on an international scale. He played a key role in the sustained success of Juddmonte Farms and with his wealth of knowledge and experience, will undoubtedly prove a valuable asset to Blue Diamond Stud. I am greatly looking forward to working with him.”

Lord Grimthorpe said, “I am very touched to have been asked by Imad Al Sagar to join his team. He has built up an impressive bloodstock portfolio and I will look forward to being any help I can with his operation.

“I will continue to be chairman of the National Stud and serve on the boards of both Jockey Club and York Racecourse, all of which should fit nicely into this new role.”

Imad Al Sagar's original involvement in European racing came in partnership with Saleh Al Homaizi, the pair enjoying notable success with 2007 Derby winner Authorized (Ire) and the previous year's Irish 2000 Guineas Araafa (Ire). In 2010, they established Blue Diamond Stud, which is formed of two farms in the vicinity of Newmarket and has a broodmare band of 40. The stud's most successful homebred to date is the treble Group 1 winner Decorated Knight (GB), who remains in the ownership of Al Sagar and stands at the Irish National Stud.

Al Sagar and Al Homeizi parted company in 2018, with Al Sagar retaining the stud and buying out his partner in Pearling (Storm Cat), the dam of Decorated Knight, for 2.4 million gns during a partial dispersal of stock.

In July 2020, Al Sagar appointed Hollie Doyle as retained jockey for the Blue Diamond Stud horses. Her contract has been renewed for 2022 as first jockey, as has that of Martin Dwyer, who was appointed second jockey last year.

In a further new appointment for the stud, Gerry Meehan takes up the role as yearling manager, having previously served a lengthy stint in the same role for Newsells Park Stud. He will also oversee sales consignments under the name of Blue Diamond Stud Farm (UK) Ltd, with three lots consigned under this banner for the forthcoming Tattersalls February Sale.

Andrew Rawlin, who has been with Blue Diamond Stud for 11 years, has been promoted to mares manager, and Nancy Sexton has been named as bloodstock and media advisor. Sexton is a well-known bloodstock journalist and is also the European representative for the Kentucky-based Schumer Bloodstock.

Al Sagar added, “With such a strong team on board for 2022, I believe we are well placed to not only consolidate Blue Diamond Stud's position as an elite presence within the industry, but also to strive for further growth and success. As such, we have started the year on a positive note and I look forward to a successful year.”

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Real World Targets Saudi Cup

Dual group winner Real World (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) pleased trainer Saeed bin Suroor in his work on Thursday and is being pointed at the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup in February. Godolphin's 5-year-old son of Nafura (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who won the Listed Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot on June 16, added the Aug. 21 Strensall S. prior to signing off last season with a narrow victory in the G2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein at ParisLongchamp on Oct. 2.

“He worked today and he worked really well, he's in good order and I'm very happy with him,” said Bin Suroor on Thursday. “The target with him is to take him to Saudi, but I would like to give him a race first at the end of this month.

“I will judge him when he works next week and see when I think he is ready for a race and then we'll make a plan. We don't need to run him on dirt before Saudi, I'll run him on turf, we'll go back on dirt in the Saudi Cup.”

He added, “When we took him back to Newmarket he grew and became a better horse, it's as simple as that. That is why I want to run him on turf first, to get him ready for the Saudi Cup.”

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Champion Almond Eye Foals a Colt

Dual Japanese Horse of the Year Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) delivered her first foal shortly after midnight on Jan. 13, Silk Racing Company Limited announced. The bay foal is a colt by Shadai Stallion Station's Epiphaneia (Jpn).

Bred by Northern Farm and raced by Silk Racing, the 7-year-old claimed nine Group 1 victories throughout her career. Ridden all bar one race by Christophe Lemaire and trained by Sakae Kunieda, the bay won the 2018 Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown and G1 Japan Cup. Named the Champion 3-Year-Old Filly and Japanese Horse of the Year that year, she returned at four to win the G1 Dubai Turf at Meydan. Third in the G1 Yasuda Kinen later in 2019, she signed off with a G1 Tenno Sho Autumn title and was the champion older horse in the UAE from 7-9 ½ furlongs.

Kept in training at five, Almond Eye added the G1 Victoria Mile to her haul in May of 2020, and was second to Gran Alegria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the G1 Yasuda Kinen a month later. Taking her second Tenno Sho Autumn in November of that year, she retired with a 1 1/4-length victory over Japanese Triple Crown Winner Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown Winner Daring Tact (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) in the Japan Cup, her second.

Out of the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup winner Fusaichi Pandora (Jpn) (Sunday Silence), who later placed in that race when it was promoted to Group 1 status, Almond Eye is a half-sister to the Japanese listed-placed Unakite (Jpn) (Johannesburg). This is the extended family of blue hen mare Sex Appeal (Buckpasser) and her sons and successful sires El Gran Senor (Northern Dancer) and Try My Best (Northern Dancer).

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