As Godolphin's multiple G1 winner Impending goes to stud this spring, he brings with him an outstanding racing record, a magnificent pedigree and the looks and style of a ready-made stallion.
Born with the right credentials, Impending lived up to them from the start.
Impending is by Lonhro, the champion racehorse of his era in Australia and a stallion who is one of the country's most reliable producer of winners.
He is from the Encosta De Lago mare Mnemosyne, whose six wins included the G1 Flight Stakes and G1 Thousand Guineas. Mnemosyne is one of seven winners from as many foals produced by her dam My Juliet (Canny Lad) and has herself produced three Stakes winners, including the highly-promising filly Epidemic (Lonhro).
It is a family that also includes the outstanding racemare Better Draw who at stud produced the G1 Golden Slipper winner Full On Aces and his brother Top Of The Pack.
"From any point of view there is a lot to like about Impending," said trainer James Cummings.
"He has so much to pass on, he's such a strong, well-built colt with a wonderful temperament, a great desire to win and a blistering turn of foot."
As a racehorse Impending showed his talents right from the beginning, winning at his first start as a two-year-old and then stacking up Stakes placings at his next three starts before winning the G2 Stan Fox Stakes in the spring of 2016.
Impending was prepared for that win by Darren Beadman, a seven-time champion jockey in Sydney and a long-time assistant trainer with Godolphin.
Beadman had also scored G1 victories on Impending's dam Mnemosyne, his sire Lonhro and his grandsire, Octagonal.
"My history with Impending and his family goes back a long way ….. to train him as a G1 racehorse was the ultimate, a highlight of my career," Beadman said.
Impending began his four-year-old career in the spring of 2017 under the care of Cummings, with the best of his two runs for the preparation a third placing in the G1 Darley Classic at Flemington.
The colt's final preparation kicked off with a victory in the G2 Victory Stakes at Doomben which was followed by an unlucky second in the G1 Doomben 10,000 before his brilliant success in the G1 Kingsford-Smith Cup.
Darley's Head of Sales Alastair Pulford concurs, describing Impending as a rare find.
"When you send a Group One-winning mare like Mnemosyne to a champion racehorse and sire like Lonhro you hope for a result like Impending."
"He's the product of two colonial-bred, Danehill-free champions, he's a great athlete and a great physical specimen.
"If his progeny inherit his looks and his walk, yearling buyers are going to be all over them."
Impending retires to stud with a record of five wins and eight placings from 18 starts and prizemoney of almost A$2.5 million.
He will stand at Darley's Northwood Park stud in Victoria at a fee of A$22,000, including GST.
