Godolphin Sweeps Derby, Oaks Preps at Churchill Downs

There may still be 188 days until the Run for the Roses, but at this point there probably is not any owner in better position to claim a Kentucky Derby (G1) or Kentucky Oaks (G1) victory than Godolphin. Less than one week before their grade 1-winning homebreds East Avenue and Immersive enter the Breeders' Cup starting gate as one of the favorites in their respective juvenile races, Godolphin swept both $200,000 juvenile stakes at Churchill Downs Oct. 27 with Sovereignty in the Street Sense (G3) and Good Cheer in the Rags to Riches Stakes. "We liked them all along, both of them," said Godolpin's director of bloodstock Michael Banahan. "We were excited about coming here today with two very strong chances." Banahan admitted that Sovereignty's entry in the Street Sense was an oddity for Godolphin given that he was still a maiden after two starts. After finishing fourth on debut behind eventual Champagne Stakes (G1) runner-up Tip Top Thomas, he ran a very strong second in a Sept. 27 maiden race at Aqueduct Racetrack while losing by a neck. That effort gave Godolphin and Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott the confidence to enter into a graded stakes. "We felt internally that his last race was as good as a win," Banahan said. "If he broke his maiden that day, we'd probably be doing something like this anyway. It was an easy enough decision." Banahan also noted that the Godolphin team was eager to get their son of Into Mischief, out of the unraced Bernardini mare Crowned, around two turns for the first time. Breaking on the far outside of the nine-horse field, he left the gate flat-footed. Jockey Junior Alvarado wasn't surprised by this as it wasn't the colt's first time. He took advantage of the situation to drop to the rail and save ground entering the clubhouse turn. "He's just a big horse trying to get too fast out of the gate," Alvarado said of the break. "Going two turns for the first time, I wanted to get a good position and save some ground." Longshot Forged Steel set the pace with fractions of :23.57, :48.00, and 1:12.52. Sovereignty still trailed the field at the quarter pole, but was winding up for a big run while swinging wide. "Right when he turned for home, I just put him on the outside and showed him the way and he just swallowed them," Alvarado said. The bay colt released a furious rally to take the lead just inside the eighth pole and drew off to win by five lengths, stopping the clock in 1:43.86 for 1 1/16 miles. The bettors took notice of the unusual Godolphin maiden entry in a stakes and were rewarded with only $4.86 while betting on the favorite. Tiztastic, returning to dirt after a pair of victories on the Kentucky Downs turf, finished second and Sandman finished third. The top five finishers earned Kentucky Derby points on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale, with Dapper Moon and Bracket Buster grabbing the last two spots. Good Cheer Rallies for Rags to Riches Victory One race prior, Godolphin watched another of their homebreds, this one trained by Brad Cox, come from last to win as Good Cheer took the Rags to Riches. Squeezed from both sides exiting the gate, the 3-5 favorite found herself last of five under Luis Saez entering the clubhouse turn while Claire's Charm, a promising runner hailing from Rigney Racing, set a comfortable pace of :23.88, :48.06, and 1:12.63. By the half-mile pole, Saez had slid Good Cheer into third and began rallying outside of the pacesetters approaching the quarter pole. Claire's Charm provided a challenge to the eighth pole but Good Cheer was too much to hold off, scoring by 4 3/4 lengths while completing 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.00 and paying $3.48. "There wasn't a tremendous amount of pace today," Cox said. "She was able to sit off of them, blitz them turning for home and keep going down the lane. Proud of the effort." Claire's Charm finished second while 4 1/2 lengths clear of Sherbini in third. With Kentucky Oaks points up for grabs on a 10-4-3-2-1 scale, each contender got at least one point. By Medaglia d'Oro and out of the grade 1-winning Street Sense mare Wedding Toast, Good Cheer is 3-for-3 to start her career. Before jumping to stakes company, she won her first two starts by 25 1/4 lengths. Cox said she'll only get better as the distances get longer. "I think she's got a big future," Cox said. "She's a real athletic filly. She's not hard on herself and doesn't overtrain. There's a lot of positive things moving forward." Godolphin will hope both Sovereignty and Good Cheer keep moving forward into the spring. Godolphin is still searching for their first Kentucky Derby win and certainly wouldn't mind picking up a second Kentucky Oaks. "It's a fabulous position to be in," Banahan said. "We have a long way to go. We don't know what's going to happen to these animals—they're fragile—but we're super happy with the position we're in at the moment."