Reigning Australian champion juvenile Broadsiding picked up where he left off last season when he produced a barnstorming display to win the Sept. 28 Golden Rose Stakes (G1) on seasonal debut, leading home a brilliant quinella for Godolphin homebreds in the Rosehill Gardens 1,400-meter event.
The James Cummings-trained son of Too Darn Hot took all before him as a 2-year-old. With connections deciding against a competitive pipe-opener, Broadsiding instead warmed up for his reappearance in the Golden Rose with barrier trials at Rosehill and Hawkesbury, finishing second in both.
After breaking smartly from barrier one, James McDonald was happy to settle the colt in midfield on the fence with Storm Boy setting smart fractions on the front end. As the field entered the straight, Broadsiding unleashed his trademark turn of foot, zipping up the center of the track to cross the line 0.14 lengths ahead of his stablemate, last-start Run To The Rose (G2) winner Traffic Warden.
The victory moved McDonald within one of a century of group 1 winners and the rider was quick to heap praise on Broadsiding.
"He's got way more than we can ever imagine, he's just a cool dude," he said "From the moment I sat on him in the Fernhill, seeing his development from race to race to race is incredible. He hasn't gone up step by step, he's skipped a couple.
"He's that kind of horse. He was feeling the pinch 100 (meters) from home and just the fighting qualities in this horse, the turn of foot, the will to win, he's just a marvelous horse."
Broadsiding! The @godolphin colt becomes the first horse to win the G1 Golden Rose first-up and he is now a three-time G1 winner. That's a third Golden Rose for @mcacajamez 🔵🔵🔵 pic.twitter.com/lOM6NAi36Z
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) September 28, 2024
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Mayfair, runner-up in the San Domenico Stakes (G3) and Ming Dynasty (G3) on his two previous appearances, ran another brilliant race, this time having to settle for third, another 0.19 lengths away. Meanwhile, the wait for that elusive group 1 goes on for Mayfair's stablemate Storm Boy, with the colt coming home another 0.35 lengths adrift in fourth.
The victory handed Cummings his 50th at the elite level. Cummings paid tribute to his staff for their efforts in getting the two colts to their first target in top order, before confirming Broadsiding would now head to the Caulfield Guineas (G1) in Melbourne on October 12, while the colt's price for the 2,400-meter Cox Plate (G1) at The Valley on Oct. 27 was tightened to third choice behind Japanese raider Prognosis and Friday's Feehan Stakes (G2) winner Pride Of Jenni.
"(Broadsiding) is a champion from last season, he steps right onto the turf as a 3-year-old and claims a group 1. It's a pretty impressive achievement for a colt to do," Cummings said. "I can't remember too many colts, champion 2-year-old colts, doing that in the past."
Broadsiding is the only runner from two live foals out of the Street Cry mare Speedway, who made 11 starts for three Godolphin trainers, John O'Shea, Darren Beadman, and James Cummings, producing two wins and a further four placings.
Stablemate Traffic Warden is firmed as Godolphin's top seed to fill their slot in The Everest at Randwick Oct. 19.
