2019 Eclipse Awards: Godolphin

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum’s international Godolphin operation had another powerhouse year and is a finalist for another Eclipse Award, further cementing its position as one of the elite outfits of the modern era. The operation won the Eclipse for outstanding breeder in 2012 under its Darley name. Darley also tied with Lael Stable for outstanding owner of 2006, and Godolphin was honored in that category in 2009 and 2012.

Four runners bred by Godolphin won Grade 1 events in North America in 2019 – Maxfield, Old Persian, Secret Spice, and She’s a Julie. Both Maxfield, by Street Sense, and Old Persian, by Dubawi, are by Darley stallions and raced in the Godolphin blue. Maxfield put together a brief and unbeaten juvenile campaign that included a win in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland. Old Persian was a world traveler, winning two group stakes in Dubai, highlighted by the Group 1 Sheema Classic; finishing third in the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Berlin in Germany; and winning the Group 1 Northern Dancer Stakes at Woodbine. Godolphin’s other top runners around the globe included Thunder Snow, who won an unprecedented second edition of the Dubai World Cup, and Blue Point, who won two Group 1 races in a week at the Royal Ascot meeting.

Thunder Snow and Blue Point will enter stud in Japan and Ireland, respectively, for the far-flung Darley stallion operation in 2020. Meanwhile, the operation’s Kentucky stallion outfit finished up a strong 2019, as Medaglia d’Oro, Hard Spun, and Street Sense all finished in the top 10 nationally.

:: Full list of 2019 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories