Wandering Eyes

Sovereignty (Into Mischief) capped off yet another massive evening at the Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum's far-flung Godolphin operation, capping the festivities at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida, by being named America's Horse of the Year for 2025 by a wide margin. It marks the second time in three years that a horse bred and raced by Godolphin stole the show, following on from Cody's Wish (Curlin), who took down top honors in 2023. Godolphin was also named outstanding owner and breeder Thursday evening, and largely for his work managing the big colt, Bill Mott earned his fiith Eclipse as outstanding trainer. He also called the shots on the career of Cody's Wish. “First of all, I can't express how proud I am to be the one to hold this award,” said Mott, accepting the night's most-coveted trophy. “I mean, it is so telling of the entire Godolphin team, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed. What he's done for racing in this country and all around the world is amazing. To be able to be part of winning his first Kentucky Derby and another Horse of the Year is just unimaginable, unexplainable. I'm so proud to be standing here with the Godolphin team: Michael (Banahan), Dan (Pride), the whole entire group.” Though the racing public at large was denied the opportunity to see what Sovereignty could do against his elders when unfortunately withdrawn from the GI Breeders' Cup Classic early that week, there was no denying his brilliance over a six-race campaign that saw him win the first and third legs of the Triple Crown either side of a much-discussed and much-maligned decision to give the GI Preakness Stakes a miss. If the objective was to have a relatively fresh horse for the second half of the season, it was certainly mission accomplished, as he was imperious in completing the Saratoga sophomore stakes double over the summer and by all accounts, would have been a very tough customer and favored in the Classic against the likes of Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) and 'TDN Rising Stars' presented by Hagyard Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), Mindframe (Constitution) and Fierceness (City of Light) in the main event on championship Saturday. Alas, it wasn't meant to be, some 201 members of the three voting blocs–the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB) and Daily Racing Form (DRF)–were willing to cast a Horse of the Year vote in his favor. Sovereignty's name also appeared on the first line each of the 219 ballots (with one absention) for champion 3-year-old male, making him the evening's lone unanimous winner. But for single votes cast for the impressive GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Gstaad (GB) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) and Spendthrift Farm's 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Further Ado (Gun Runner), the latter ownership's 'TDN Rising Star' Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) would have also been a unanimous choice for champion 2-year-old male off a 4-for-4 season that was capped by success in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar on Oct. 31. The fillies' counterpart also supplied the champion 2-year-old filly in the form of Super Corredora (Gun Runner), who comfortably beat GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint victress and 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Cy Fair (Not This Time) by a count of 146-49. Ted Noffey | Breeders' Cup/Eclipse Sportswire For the fourth time in the space of just five years, a Charlie Appleby-conditioned son of Dalham Hall Stud's magnificent Dubawi (Ire) provided Godolphin with the Eclipse statuette for champion turf male. 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Notable Speech (GB) endured a bit of a frustrating run in Europe in the first part of 2025, but that all changed in his last two starts of the preparation, including a fast-finishing victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile to improve on a somewhat unlucky third in the same event 12 months prior. It was coincidentally a fourth win in five years in that race for Godolphin-bred and -raced sons of Dubawi. Rebel's Romance (Ire), the reigning Eclipse turf champion, was a distant second in this year's balloting. Up-and-coming trainer Cherie DeVaux was represented by the first champion of her burgeoning career when Lael Stables' She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}) took home the hardware in the turf female category, with Grade I victories north and south of the border. She received 151 of the 220 first-place votes, outdistancing the 3-year-old filly who defeated her in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, Gezora (Fr) (Almanzor {Fr}), who tallied 36 votes. Outside of Sovereignty and Ted Noffey, the next most-dominant divisional winner was D J Stables' Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro) who attracted all but 37 of the votes to earn champion 3-year-old filly honors. Equally adept on the turf and on the dirt, the homebred defeated GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint heroine and 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Shisospicy (Mitole), who picked up 24 votes to finish a clear second. The latter was also third behind She's So Pretty in the turf female category, but was not denied her own moment in the spotlight when her connections accepted the Eclipse Award for champion female sprinter. Her wire-to-wire tour-de-force in the Turf Sprint earned her top honors over Splendora (Audible), the convincing winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. The older dirt male divisions, both short and long, were the subject of many a heated discussion across social media since the Eclipse finalists were announced on Jan. 4. In the older dirt male division, the voters ultimately decided that Forever Young's historic victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic was the most convincing piece of form in a division which never truly yielded a leader over the course of the season. In the end, the voting was surprisingly decisive, as the G1 Saudi Cup winner received 117 votes to the 50 for the reigning champion 3-year-old colt and defending Classic winner Sierra Leone. The male sprint division tossed up the evening's closest contest, but by a count of 115 to 82, Eclipse voters rewarded Atlantic Six Racing's Book'em Danno (Bucchero) for his consistent body of work from March through to the end of August, a stretch which included an unprecedented sequence of victories at Saratoga, among them the GI Forego Stakes. His absence from the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint proved no detriment, as he outpointed Bentornato (Valiant Minister), who posted a pair of towering Beyer Speed Figures in his two starts–including in the Sprint–but was penalized for the abbreviated campaign. Book'em Danno | Sarah Andrew Similar to its male counterpart, the 2025 dirt female division was characterized by unpredictability and the lack of a dominating presence. 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) was not the same animal that was anointed Horse of the Year and champion of her generation during these ceremonies 12 months ago, but a pair of elite-level successes which took her career total to seven earned her a third statue, this one for champion older dirt female. 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Scylla (Tapit) finally put it all together in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff, but was soundly defeated into second in divisional balloting. In the battle for champion steeplechase horse, Riverdee Stables' Cool Jet (Ire) (Jet Away {GB}) was also rewarded for his consistency, romping from on or near the pace in the Commonwealth Cup in May, the Mariann de Tejada Memorial in October and the Noel Lainge in early November. On the heels of yet hugely successful year in the saddle, Flavien Prat picked up his second straight Eclipse Award as outstanding journeyman jockey, while Pietro Moran landed the Eclipse for outstanding apprentice in a season highlighted by a victory in the King's Plate. A total of 240 ballots were distributed to members of the three aforementioned voting blocs, of which 220 (91.7%) were returned. In voting that concluded Jan. 1, 2026, Eclipse Awards voters cast their ballots to rank the top three horses and individuals in each Championship division on a 10-5-1 point system. This voting established the top three finalists in each division, whose names were released on Jan. 4, 2026. The Eclipse Awards are determined by first-place votes only. The post ‘Sovereign’ Rule: Sovereignty A Runaway Winner of HOTY, Champion 3YO Male appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Godolphin homebred 3-year-old Sovereignty (Into Mischief) has been named the 2025 Horse of the Year. In the final award of the evening, the Champion 3-Year-Old Colt added the ultimate prize to a 2025 campaign which saw him win five of six starts including three Grade I's. Beginning the year with a win in the GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream, he was defeated just once when second in the GI Curlin Florida Derby. He would go undefeated from there, piling up wins in the GI Kentucky Derby, the GI Belmont Stakes, the GII Jim Dandy Stakes and the GI DraftKings Travers Stakes. From six starts, he earned $5,692,020. Sovereignty is Godolphin's second Horse of the Year in the last three years, joining Cody's Wish in 2023. The post Sovereignty Named 2025 Horse of the Year appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile winner Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf runner-up She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}) have been named Best Turf Male and Female. 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Notable Speech, owned and bred by fellow Eclipse winner Godolphin, also won the GI Rogers Woodbine Mile Stakes, finishing his year with back to back wins on North American shores. She Feels Pretty won three of five starts for trainer Cherie DeVaux in 2025 including the GIII Modesty Stakes, the GI New York Stakes and the GI E. P. Taylor Stakes. She finished runner up in her other two starts for owner Lael Stables. The post Turf Honors To Notable Speech And She Feels Pretty appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Eclipse Award for Older Dirt Male and Female have gone to Japan's Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) and last year's Horse of the Year, Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna). Forever Young, who returned to Del Mar in 2025 to win the GI Breeders' Cup Classic after coming up just short in 2024, also won this year's G1 Saudi Cup and ran third in the G1 Dubai World Cup, his only non-winning effort across his four starts for trainer Yoshito Yahagi and owner Susumu Fujita. The 2024 Horse of the Year, Thorpedo Anna ran six times in 2025 for trainer Ken McPeek and an ownership group that includes Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings, Inc. (J. G. Sikura), Magdalena Racing (Sherri McPeek), Mark Edwards and Judy Hicks. She won the GI Apple Blossom Stakes and the GI Personal Ensign Stakes, earning $1,597,250 across her six starts. The post Older Dirt Awards Go To Japan’s Forever Young And Thorpedo Anna appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Bill Mott, who brought along Champion 3-Year-Old Male Sovereignty (Into Mischief) to wins in the Kentucky Derby, Belmont, and Travers, has been been given the Eclipse Award for Best Trainer. In addition to Sovereignty, Mott also trainer 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Scylla (Tapit) to a win in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff. From 662 starts, Mott finished out 2025 with a record of 106-85-97 and earnings of $17,165,020. This is Mott's fifth Eclipse Award; he was previously honored in 2024, 2011, 1996 and 1995, 1996. The post Mott Earns Fifth Eclipse Award For Best Trainer appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Also honored in these same categories for 2024, Godolphin has been given the Eclipse Award for Best Owner and Best Breeder during Thursday night's ceremony. Godolphin both bred and raised 2025's GI Kentucky Derby winner and Champion 3-Year-Old Male Sovereignty (Into Mischief) along with GI Breeders' Cup Mile winner Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and GI Longines Kentucky Oaks winner Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro). They also picked up top-level wins with homebred Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and El Cordobes (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). As owners, Godophin earned more than $22,395,556, the best year to date for the royal blue silks. The post Godolphin Doubles Up As Best Owner And Breeder appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The 9-year-old Cool Jet (Ire) (Jet Away {GB}) has been named the Eclipse Award Steeplechase Horse. Trained by Jack Fisher and owned by Riverdee Stable, Cool Jet won three of six starts in his sixth year of racing, picking up victories in the GI Commonwealth Cup Stakes, the GIII Mariann de Tejeda Memorial Stakes and the GIII Noel Laing Stakes. He also hit the board at both Blue Ridge and during the Foxfield Spring Meet in the Good Night Shirt Hurdle Stakes. He finished the year with earnings of $190,500 across those six starts. The post Cool Jet Honored As Best Steeplechase Horse appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

New Jersey-bred Book'em Danno (Bucchero) and Breeders' Cup winner Shisospicy (Mitole) won top Male and Female Sprinter at the Eclipse Awards. A winner in four of his five starts in 2025, Book'em Danno finished his year with three straight wins all at Saratoga in the GIII True North Stakes, the GII Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes and the GI Forego Stakes for trainer Derek Ryan and owner Atlantic Six Racing. 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Shisospicy went undefeated on American shores after February for trainer Jose D'Angelo, winning the GIII Mamzelle Stakes, the GII AGS Music City Stakes at Kentucky Downs and beating the boys in the GI Prevagen Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint . The post Book’em Danno, Shisospicy Named Best Sprinters appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Super Corredora parlayed late-developing juvenile form into Eclipse Award recognition when she was named champion 2-year-old filly Jan. 22 during an Eclipse Award ceremony at The Breakers Palm Beach in South Florida.View the full article

If there was any question whether Ted Noffey would begin his racing career by being named champion 2-year-old male, it was put to bed at the Breeders' Cup. View the full article

Canadian jockey Pietro Moran's riding accomplishments were recognized Jan. 22 when the 20-year-old was named the Eclipse Award winner as outstanding apprentice during the Eclipse Awards ceremony at The Breakers Palm Beach in South Florida.View the full article

With her ability to deliver top performances regardless of surface against the top horses in her division, Nitrogen delivered one of the more versatile campaigns in recent years to secure champion 3-year-old filly honors of 2025.View the full article

Sovereignty's excellence was recognized the evening of Jan. 22 when the dual classic winner was named champion 3-year-old male at the Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards at The Breakers Palm Beach in South Florida.View the full article

Following a career-best year by wins and earnings in 2025, Flavien Prat earned his second consecutive Eclipse Award for outstanding jockey in 2025.View the full article

Once again a victory in the Breeders' Cup unlocked the door to an Eclipse Award for the champion female sprinter. View the full article

Already an Eclipse Award winner from last year, Flavien Prat has gone back to back and has once again been named Best Jockey. His 2025 campaign of 1,256 starts earned a record of 309-234-188 with earnings of over $40,460,428. His picked up wins aboard Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) in the GI Whitney Stakes and was named the Leading Rider for Keeneland's Spring meet. He also set a new NYRA record for wins on a single card, earning seven wins on the final day of the Belmont the Big A meet on Nov. 2. He also won a pair of Breeders' Cup races with Nysos (Nyquist) in the Dirt Mile and Splendora (Audible) in the Filly and Mare Sprint. The post Flavien Prat Goes Back To Back As Best Jockey appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

GI Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty (Into Mischief) has been named the top 3-Year-Old Male and GI Alabama Stakes winner Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro) as top 3-Year-Old Filly in their respective categories at the Eclipse Awards. Beaten just once in 2025 when second in the GI Curlin Florida Derby, Sovereignty wrapped up his year with wins in the Derby, the GI Belmont Stakes, the GII Jim Dandy Stakes and the GI DraftKings Travers Stakes, earning more than $5,600,000 in six starts for owner/breeder Godolphin and trainer Bill Mott. Nitrogen began her year on the turf but easily found her footing on the dirt as well, racking up five graded stakes wins over both surfaces culminating in her victory in the GI Alabama Stakes at Saratoga for trainer Mark Casse and D.J. Stable. She finished her season second behind older fillies in both the GI Juddmonte Spinster Stakes and the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. The post Sovereignty, Nitrogen Named Best 3-Year-Olds appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Pietro Moran has been named the Eclipse Award winner for best Apprentice Jockey. After launching his career in Canada in 2023, the 20-year old was named a Sovereign Award finalist for Apprentice Jockey in 2024. His 2025 campaign included wins aboard Mansetti (Collected) in the King's Plate, becoming the third youngest jockey in history to win the race. He finished the year with a record of 863-140-117-139 and earnings of $6,083,835 and a winning percentage of 16%. The post Pietro Moran Named Best Apprentice Jockey appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Breeders' Cup winners Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) and Super Corredora (Gun Runner) were honored as Eclipse Award Champion 2-Year-Old Male and 2-Year-Old Female respectively Thursday night to open the 55th Annual Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards. Trained by Todd Pletcher, 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Ted Noffey put together an undefeated juvenile campaign for owner Spendthrift Farm, winning the GI Spendthrift Farm Hopeful Stakes and the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity before defeating Mr A.P. (Honor A.P) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar. Having just broken her maiden less than three weeks prior when she entered the gate for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, Super Corredora took the field gate to wire in an 8-1 upset for trainer John Sadler and owners Spartan Equine Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds, Robert Gardiner and Michael Olszewski. The post Ted Noffey, Super Corredora Claim Juvenile Eclipse Awards appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Fashion Friday at Meydan features a nine-race card, eight of them for Thoroughbreds, and the crowning jewel is the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge, which grants the victor an entry in the $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup on March 28. The 2026 edition features the past two winners in Walk Of Stars (Dubawi) and Kabirkhan (California Chrome), who are both trained by Bhupat Seemar. “Walk Of Stars had a lot of weight to give away first time out, against horses who were race fit,” Seemar said of the gelding's fourth in the Listed Entisar in December. “He's fit and off level weights so hopefully he's going to give a good showing. “Kabirkhan kind of fluffed the start on his first run for us,” he continued. “He was drawn on the inside, broke slow and got a lot of kickback. We've got blinkers on him now as he's an older horse so he's getting a bit clever, but he's still got a world of talent.” Among Seemar's other four entrants is the multiple group-placed Artorius (Arrogate), who ran second to Jamie Osborne's Heart Of Honor (Honor A. P.) in the Listed Entisar last out. “Artorius was a very good horse in the States, but then his form sort of tapered off a little bit,” he said. “He came over last year and kept on improving. I think he'll improve again and I'm hoping for a very good run.” Imperial Emperor (Dubawi) won the G2 Al Maktoum Mile in grand fashion and steps back up to 1900 metres on Friday. “Imperial Emperor was second in this race last year but I think he's a better horse now,” said Seemar. Of Heart Of Honor, who will be ridden by his daughter Saffie, Osborne said, “We know the style in which he's going to race, it's 'win ugly'. He certainly conserves energy on the way round, but that's probably one of the factors which makes him such a strong stayer. As long as they go hard and turn it into a proper end to end, stamina-requiring race, then he'll be coming into his own.” Jebel Hatta Up For Grabs Godolphin fields the five-for-seven Opera Ballo (Ghaiyyath) and four-time Group 1 winner Nations Pride (Teofilo) in the 1800-metre G1 Jebel Hatta. Both are Charlie Appleby trainees, with the former a strong winner of the G2 Al Rashidiya in December. “Opera Ballo put up a good performance in the Al Rashidiya, when he picked up some valuable experience of racing at Meydan,” said trainer Charlie Appleby. “He goes into the race in great order and this is the logical next test for him. It is a small field, but everyone in there deserves respect. “I feel that Nations Pride has come forward for his last run as his work since has been a bit sharper. He has plenty of experience under his belt and conditions are there to suit. He is a rock-solid horse and I'm sure he will put up another strong effort.” GI Canadian International hero Silawi (Dubawi) is another in with a chance and is trained by Hamad Al Jehani, while Holloway Boy (Ulysses) ran third in this contest a year ago. The post Seemar Mob-Handed In Al Maktoum Challenge appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Hong Kong's trio of superstars - Romantic Warrior, Voyage Bubble, and Ka Ying Rising, all winners on December's Internationals Day - return to action Jan. 25 at Sha Tin Racecourse.View the full article

Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's OBSOnline January 2026 Sale, which will overlap the in-person OBS Winter Mixed Sale, has 16 horses catalogued. The online auction is scheduled for Jan. 26-30, while the Winter Mixed Sale will take place Jan. 27. Among the horses catalogued for the digital auction is a 2-year-old Collected filly out of MGISW Tough Tiz's Sis (Tiznow). The half-sister to GSW Tiz Midnight (Midnight Lute) is consigned by McKathan Bros. and will be hip 403. Seven of the offerings breezed or galloped during the optional under-tack show held at OBS Jan. 22, including an unnamed 3-year-old Good Magic colt out of Mrs. Appeal (Successful Appeal), who is a full-sister to GSW Closing Argument. Consigned by Champions of the Future, the colt breezed three-eighths in :35 2/5 and will appear as hip 406 when the catalogue is released Friday, Jan. 23. The OBSOnline sale will feature 2-year-olds and horses of racing age, with bidding kicking off Jan. 26 at noon ET and closing Jan. 30 at noon ET. Visit obsonline.com for more information. The post 16 Horses Catalogued for OBSOnline January Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

HISA is seeking public comment on proposed modifications to the Rule Series 5000 (Equine Testing and Investigation Standards) and 7000 (Arbitration Procedures) of its Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program.View the full article

The $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) has joined the roster of prestigious North American races for the 2026 Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In, Breeders' Cup Limited and Oaklawn Park announced Jan. 22.View the full article

A mistake made by the organisers of the Racing League was to underestimate just how much certain racing colours resonate with those watching the action. All of us who have followed racing over the years will have owners and trainers we like to get behind. Even when scanning down a race card in the paper each morning, certain sets of silks act as an automatic signpost as to the potential quality of the races to come. It is very clear the regard in which Robert Sangster was held during his glorious run as an owner-breeder from the 1970s until his death in 2004. Such fondness for the man himself extended to those green and blue silks and the tremendous horses who carried them to glory: Sadler's Wells, The Minstrel, Golden Fleece, Alleged, El Gran Senor, Beldale Ball, Las Meninas – the list goes on. The colours have continued to be in circulation in the intervening decades on horses connected to various Sangster family members, but it is Robert's son Sam who has really helped to restore them in the public eye, first through his Manton Thoroughbreds syndicate and recently in his shrewd purchase of Diego Velazquez from Coolmore. No sooner had the deal been announced, with the ultimate intention of standing the son of Frankel at the National Stud upon retirement, than the colt galloped his way to Group 1 glory in the Prix Jacques Le Marois on one of the most prestigious days of Deauville's summer calendar. “The timing of the announcement was literally when we were arriving to start looking at yearlings [at Arqana], so for me it was a really good gauge as to whether or not it was the right or wrong decision,” Sangster recalls. “The lead up to [the race] was very nerve-wracking, that's for sure. Trying to concentrate on the job of the yearling sales with Brian [Meehan], and also the fact that we had a chance in one of the biggest Group 1s in France on the Sunday. “Could I have imagined what happened on the day was going to happen before that? No. I'd written it in my head many a time and I'd had a conversation with a few of the team at Coolmore, including MV [Magnier], and they said he'd been working very well. And the stars aligned: Christophe [Soumillon] gave him a hell of a ride, kept it very straightforward, and we didn't even see [runner-up] Notable Speech, because he wasn't on the screen when they hit the line. “It was quite something and a moment that will live with me for the rest of my life, that's for sure.” Sangster had been approached by National Stud chairman Teddy Grimthorpe to join the board three years ago, and this too now looks to have been a shrewd decision to enhance what was already a young and vibrant team in place at the Jockey Club-owned stud in Newmarket. “I was really quite blown away, and honoured,” he says of his appointment to the board. “Everybody tells me I'm not young anymore, but I still think I'm quite young in terms of this industry and I'm learning every day. I don't do things in half measures and what I really felt that I could bring to the table was my experience in syndication. What I really wanted to try and do is identify a horse that with the team here we could try and syndicate and still have a bit of racing upside. “We weren't reinventing the wheel here – it's been done for many a year, but what I wanted to build was the excitement around a horse like that and hopefully attract some new people into the industry as well. And working with Joe [Bradley], Anna [Kerr], Teddy, Nancy [Sexton], and everybody else on the board, they've got a really exciting team here, and a really exciting team of stallions. What we really want to do is keep adding to that. We've set a benchmark, we've got a champion in Stradivarius and we've got lovely horses on the roster already. We've added a stunning horse in Diego and we're hopefully going to keep going.” Diego Velazquez at the National Stud | Emma Berry Not since Mill Reef's achievements in 1978 and 1987 has the National Stud stood a champion sire. There is a mountain to climb to repeat that feat when in competition with the likes of Godolphin, Juddmonte, and indeed Coolmore, who had bought Diego Velazquez as a yearling from his breeder Denis Brosnan of Croom House Stud for 2.4 million gns at Tattersalls. That price alone points to a young horse who was not only a looker but well related: his half-brothers Broome and Point Lonsdale, by another son of Galileo in the Derby winner Australia, have amassed 12 Group wins between them, including Broome's victory in the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and runner-up finish in the G1 Breeders' Cup Turf. Diego Velazquez plainly has much going for him, and has already fulfilled phase one of Sangster's ambitious plan by becoming a Group 1 winner himself. Phase two begins next month when the covering season starts, and much groundwork has already been laid in preparation. “There's been a really good response,” says Sangster of the support pledged by breeders. “First and foremost, I want to thank the shareholders because, gosh, they got behind him at the sales. I wasn't expecting them to do what they did. A few of them have gone from having a couple of horses in training to now owning four or five mares. I think that really just shows from the outset to everybody what the shareholders are going to do for the horse. The quality alone, I think there were 22 mares bought across all the partners – mares like Miss Justice, a couple of stakes-winning mares that Joe and I have just gone through with really fantastic pedigrees. They're providing the bolster of quality just to start with, and the mares that have been booked in are very exciting. I'm very grateful to all of those who have shown support for him so far.” Just ahead of the season kicking off, Diego Velazquez will join the stallion parade at Tattersalls on February 5. “We're just incredibly excited about the whole project,” Sangster adds. “I didn't think he was going to be a hard sell, and it's proving that he's not a hard sell. What I'm really blown away by is that high bar of quality that is going to give him every chance with his first crop.” What was particularly noteworthy on the day of Diego Velazquez's triumph in Deauville was the genuine sense of joy from many in the industry on Sangster's behalf, not least from the Coolmore gang, from whom he had effectively just pinched a Group 1 winner. Of course, they are not short of stallion prospects and indeed the ties between the Sangster and the Magnier families run deep, right the way back to the formation of Coolmore half a century ago. “I've known MV my whole life and the whole family, they're incredibly special friends to me,” says Sangster. “John has been an amazing supporter of mine. When I first joined the board here at the National Stud, I spoke with John and he gave me some really sound advice of what I should try and bring to the table. And I suppose when [Diego Velzaquez] won the Minstrel Stakes he became top of our target list, and I approached MV with what I would like to do and the proposal that I wanted to bring to them. They were very straightforward to deal with – all the partners were great – and they were only delighted when he won on the day. I saw John at the sales afterwards and he was delighted as well.” MV Magnier and Sam Sangster in Deauville | Emma Berry Even five months on, the raw emotion of that sunny afternoon in Normandy still resurfaces as Sangster remembers the response to that victory in those famous colours. “It was incredible. The connection I have with them, the horse winning in Dad's colours, a race like the Marois – even the fact he's by Frankel and that you can go back to Sadler's Wells and Northern Dancer. It's why there were so many pockets of emotion that all bubbled up when he hit the line, and they still bubble up now when I think about it.” He continues, “I've always known the weight that those colours carry. I was 16 when my father passed away, and I wasn't even alive when the glory days were around, with the horses that were trained out of Ballydoyle by Vincent O'Brien, and what the team achieved then. But since doing the Manton Thoroughbreds partnership with Brian, the first horse really that came out of that was a horse called Barraquero, and he won the Richmond. I got a really lovely vibe when he came into the the winner's enclosure there and a lot of people came to me and said how wonderful it was to see the colours back in the enclosure for a race like that. “Then the race that blew me away was when Rashabar won [the Coventry] at Royal Ascot. The amount of support and messages and love from within the industry, but also from outside of the industry, was just incredible.” It is worth noting at this stage that, despite Sangster's obvious connections to some of the most celebrated names in the business, he has earned his popular standing in the bloodstock world in his own right. The aforementioned Barraquero and Rashabar were selected by him as yearlings for £30,000 and €120,000 respectively, and there have been others, too. The filly Kathmandu, who was beaten a head when second to Rouhiya in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches in 2024, was bought for 50,000gns and followed on 12 months after another agonising near miss in a French Classic for Isaac Shelby, a £92,000 yearling. Together, Meehan and Sangster have formed a successful partnership in syndicating and racing horses which did not cost a fortune to recruit. And you know what they say, success tends to breed success. “We're so lucky in this industry, in that the people within, they really do want you to do well. I know it's incredibly competitive, but everybody wants everybody to do well, and I really felt that with Rashabar. Then when Diego won in France, the fact that it was during the sales and everybody was there, even the night before in the Drakkar, there was so much love, and I'm so incredibly grateful to all those people because I felt two inches taller walking around the sales the next day. To have Diego in those colours and to win a Group 1, and for me to be attached to achieving that, it was a very proud moment.” The post ‘A Moment That Will Live With Me For The Rest Of My Life’: Sam Sangster on Diego Velazquez appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article