“Big Time All The Time,” Goodnight Olive’s First Foal at Resolute

[Wandering Eyes]

Resolute Racing's farm manager Noel Murphy is not one for interviews, especially when they take place in front of a camera, but when the topic of conversation is Goodnight Olive? Well okay, he will kindly acquiesce.

For Murphy, the story of Goodnight Olive has always appealed to him. A $170,000 yearling purchase campaigned by First Row Partners and Team Hanley, the daughter of Ghostzapper developed into a four-time Grade I winner and dual Breeders' Cup champion.

“I think it's the fact that she was not the chosen one at the start and it took her time to get there, but on the biggest days that's when she showed up,” Murphy explained. “I just love that about her–that when the most was asked of her, that's when she gave the most. It's special to have an equine athlete like that.”

Purchased by John Stewart for $6 million in 2023, Goodnight Olive seems to have carried her outstanding tendencies into the latest chapter of her story. On Feb. 10 the champion female sprinter produced her first foal, a colt by Not This Time. Murphy said the foaling exceeded all expectations.

“She was absolutely superstar,” he recounted. “She laid down exactly where we wanted her, never went to get back up and produced an absolutely spectacular individual for a maiden. He was 150 pounds–and that's 150 pounds confirmed on a weighing scale–and has not missed a meal since. At 20 days old he was 228 pounds, so he's gaining close to four pounds a day. As ever with 'Olive', she overachieves in everything she does and this was another example of overachieving. He's built just like his mom. He's not overly leggy, but he's got a huge shoulder and huge hip on him.”

Goodnight Olive and her Not This Time colt stretch their legs at Resolute Farm | Sara Gordon

 

The colt has already been nicknamed 'Ollie' by the Resolute team and Murphy described the youngster's personality as “big time all the time.”

“He just enjoys everything he does,” he explained. “As soon as you go in the stall he'll meet you and even when he was younger, he was not scared or intimidated. He's waiting at the door and he just loves human interaction. He's a gift to us, like we just love the fact that John put this amount of trust in buying this mare and she has rewarded him with this caliber of a first-time foal. I've been doing this in Kentucky for 27 years and you're not going to get a better first-time maiden foal than him.”

Murphy hypothesized that, based on Stewart's partiality toward Goodnight Olive, 'Ollie' will likely join the Resolute Racing stable one day.

“I don't think there is a horse in Kentucky that has eaten more treats in the calendar year of 2024 than Olive,” he joked. “She can sense John coming and she knows the treats are coming. For people that don't know John, he truly does loves his horses, like nothing brings him more joy than to come out after a day in the office and spend time here on the farm. It's fun to watch.”

This past weekend, Goodnight Olive was bred back to Gainesway's Seize the Grey, the winner of last year's GI Preakness Stakes and GI Pennsylvania Derby. Next month, the superstar mare will be a part of the 'Brunch with the Babies' event Resolute plans to host on April 13, giving fans the opportunity to visit the farm and meet Resolute's latest foal crop.

Goodnight Olive was bred back to Seize the Grey this year| Sara Gordon

 

“I can't express how proud I am of all Olive has done since she came here,” said Murphy. “She's been the center of attention and she has never, ever disappointed in whatever we've asked her to do whether it's greeting the public, taking pictures and just being a representative of the farm or getting pregnant, carrying the pregnancy and foaling down a 150 pound maiden foal. You've just got to love her. Everything she does, she seems to just get it right.”

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