Eclipse Awards add gloss to unprecedented year

Four Eclipse Awards provided further evidence of Godolphin’s dominant 2021 in North America, with divisional titles for Essential Quality and Yibir in addition to Outstanding Owner and Outstanding Breeder honours.

Essential Quality became only the third Champion 2-Year-Old Colt since 1979 to be crowned Champion 3-Year-Old Colt following a superb campaign that included a first Triple Crown race success for the royal blue silks in the G1 Belmont Stakes.

Yibir took the Champion Male Turf Horse award after scoring on both his US appearances last year, most notably when forming part of an historic treble for Charlie Appleby, William Buick and Dubawi at the Breeders’ Cup.

Godolphin secured back-to-back Outstanding Owner titles following 23 Graded Stakes wins and prize money earnings in excess of $17.4 million, the highest amount ever achieved by an owner in a single year. Those totals also helped Godolphin to a first Outstanding Breeder award, following success in the same category under the Darley banner in 2012.

On the track, African Gold gained the biggest success of his career at the age of seven when making all in the G2 Kyoto Kinen, run at Hanshin due to the redevelopment of Kyoto’s racecourse.

The son of Stay Gold still has a little way to go to emulate his half-brother African Story, who won the Dubai World Cup at the same age and went on to further G1 success as an eight-year-old in the Al Maktoum Challenge – Round 3.

Cascadian produced another praiseworthy effort when coming home third on his first run since November in the G1 C.F. Orr Stakes at Caulfield. Colette also made a pleasing return to action with a staying-on second in Randwick’s G2 Apollo Stakes.

Two winners on week five of the Dubai World Cup Carnival included a first Listed success for Storm Damage as he led home a Godolphin clean sweep in the newly established Business Bay Challenge.

This week’s Dubai World Cup Carnival fixture features two contrasting Group races on the turf, with the stayers in action in the G3 Nad Al Sheba Trophy and Lazuli among those set to line up in the G2 Blue Point Sprint.

Recent G2 Expressway Stakes third Anamoe features among the nominations for the G2 Hobartville Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday. On the same day in the USA, G1 Hollywood Derby runner-up Santin gets his four-year-old season underway in the G3 Fair Grounds Stakes.