For any elite breeding operation the production of G1 winners is the measure of greatness.
There have been 13 individual three year-old winners of G1 races in Australia this season and astonishingly six of them run in the Godolphin blue and all of them are homebreds produced right here in Australia.
On Saturday, the $2million Group I ATC Australian Derby (2400m) delivered the latest 3YO success story for Godolphin with Street Boss (USA) colt Green Spaces taking the prize for the Bjorn Baker stable.
He is the 14th G1 winner for his sire and is a history maker as he is the first stakes-winner (he has 88 in total) by this stallion anywhere in the world to succeed at a distance of 2300m or further.
The scale of the achievement is considerable when you look at the overall stats for Street Boss, a gun US sprinter by Dubai World Cup winner Street Cry.
Street Boss has had 1518 runners worldwide of which 1074 have won, so 70% winner to runner.
In the staying distance range of 2300m and beyond he has only ever had 41 runners of which nine have won, so 21% winner to runner and until Green Spaces won his Derby there was no sniff of a Black Type stayer.
All of this raises the obvious question- how on earth did Green Spaces buck such a powerful trend?
The answer is in two parts – pedigree, the dam side of the equation, and trainer, as Bjorn Baker is the son of Murray Baker, widely regarded as the Derby king as a trainer having won no fewer than five Australian Derbies, plus others in his homeland in New Zealand and a Victoria Derby.
If any trainer would have the knack of transforming a talented 3YO into a Derby horse... this guy would have it.
On the pedigree front we don’t have to look far to find stamina as Green Spaces is from Outdoor, a winning Redoute’s Choice daughter of 2006 Champion 3YO Filly Serenade Rose, whose wins included both the Group I VRC Oaks, Australian Oaks and the Arrowfield Stud Stakes (now the Vinery).
Serenade Rose was acquired off the track by Sheikh Mohammed and added to his burgeoning Australian broodmare band along with other high profile acquisitions in that period including Divine Madonna, Virage de Fortune and Mannington.
Serenade Rose only ever had three foals and Outdoor was the first of those and she hit the jackpot with her first foal Trekking (by Street Cry), a dual G1 winning sprinter of $5.8million.
The only other filly from Serenade Rose is stakes-placed Entertains (Street Cry), who went to stud in the Northern Hemisphere and produced Egot, a G3 winner by Invincible Spirit before returning to Darley Australia.
This family has been largely retained and is obviously held in high regard by Godolphin, so well worth keep an eye out for given Outdoor now has two daughters at stud in Plymstock and Waterski.
The decision to disperse the Godolphin horses across a range of trainers has paid dividends with 3YO Group I success also achieved by the following horses and all of them are by Godolphin based sires from mares bred by Godolphin – quite an achievement for one breeding operation!
Tentyris (c Street Boss (USA) – Anthony and Sam Freedman – VRC Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) and Lightning Stakes (1000m).
Observer (c Ghaiyyath (IRE) – Ciaron Maher – VRC Victoria Derby (2500m), Australian Guineas (1600m)
Attica (c Lonhro) – Joe Pride – ATC Spring Champion Stakes (2000m)
Tempted (f Street Boss (USA) – Ciaron Maher - ATC Surround Stakes (1400m)
Beiwacht (c Bivouac) – Chris Waller – ATC Golden Rose (1400m)
