Desert Flower & Shadow Of Light join flourishing group of potential future champions

Only a week after East Avenue and Immersive announced themselves as the top juveniles in the United States, Godolphin’s two-year-old crop in the UK made their own cases for champion honours with a G1 double at the Dubai Future Champions Festival.

Desert Flower will head into the winter a leading contender for the 1,000 Guineas following a dominant victory in Friday’s G1 Fillies’ Mile. The daughter of Night Of Thunder took her record to four wins from as many starts when easily scoring by five and a half lengths.

Shadow Of Light had already enjoyed G1 success at Newmarket this autumn in the Middle Park Stakes, and the Lope de Vega colt made a quick return to the Rowley Mile to take the Darley Dewhurst Stakes, a race that usually decides Europe’s Champion Two-Year-Old.

Little went right for Shadow Of Light as he found himself on the wrong side in a tactical race, but he showed his courage and stamina to deny Expanded by a neck, with the same margin back to Ancient Truth in third.

The Middle Park-Dewhurst Stakes double has only been achieved 10 times since the latter race was introduced in 1875, and only Dieses and U S Navy Flag have won both races over the last 114 years.

Having proved that he stays seven furlongs, Shadow Of Light will be aimed towards the 2,000 Guineas back at Newmarket in May, a race that may also be a target for Ancient Truth.

Broadsiding was crowned Champion Two-Year-Old of the 2023-24 season at the Australian Racehorse of the Year Awards on Tuesday. The Too Darn Hot colt, who started the current campaign with victory in the Golden Rose, stayed on to finish a close fourth in Saturday’s Caulfield Guineas.

Japan’s reigning Dirt Champion Lemon Pop secured a third G1 success on the NAR circuit in Japan, adding to his two top-level JRA wins in the February Stakes and Champions Cup, as he won the Mile Championships Nambu Hai on Monday for a second consecutive year.

Winner of 12 of his 15 starts in Japan, with runner-up finishes on his other three appearances, Lemon Pop looks set for one more outing before taking up stallion duties. Victory in either the JBC Sprint or Champions Cup would make the six-year-old a strong contender for champion honours again.