Broadsiding ($2.15) has created history at Rosehill on Saturday afternoon, being the first galloper to claim the $1 million Group 1 Golden Rose (1400m) first-up in its 46-year history.
The James Cummings-trained three-year-old was heavily backed prior to the jump to suggest the son of Too Darn Hot was wound-up for the event, and the now three-time Group 1 delivered for favourite backers.
James McDonald produced a patient steer aboard the superstar colt, sitting back towards the rear of the field to save every ounce of energy for the concluding stages.
He was aided by a strong tempo throughout the journey, with the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained trio of Storm Boy ($5.00), Mayfair ($23.00) and Anode ($23.00) all launching across to claim the early lead.
Storm Boy showed out in the final 400m but was running on empty as a wall of challengers emerged, including Broadsiding’s stable Companion Traffic Warden ($6.50), who looked to be doing enough to secure victory in his own right.
Despite 105 days off the scene, it was Broadsiding getting the upper hand in the shadow of the post, however, claiming an historic victory, and giving Godolphin their first Golden Rose winner since Bivouac won the stallion making race in 2019.
2024 Group 1 Golden Rose Replay – Broadsiding
It’s the 50th Group 1 winner trained by James Cummings as he spoke glowingly about his stable post-race.
“Thanks, but it takes a village to run a racing stable and it doesn’t matter if it’s Leilani Lodge from 10 years ago or Godolphin now,” said Cummings.
“I’ve got three great stables that are able to get their fingerprints all over horses like these. I owe it to them.
“This race has been around five minutes. It hasn’t been done before (winning first-up), well it’s been done now.
“I had no trouble getting Anamoe ready for a Winx Stakes over seven furlongs first-up. Plenty of good horses can do that.
“The thing is, he’s by Too Darn Hot, he’s a European bred horse with a European style, and chasing over six furlongs would not have been his go. He was in the right race fresh up and that’s just our stable having the confidence to know our horses.
“As for the other horse, evidently he took great benefit from the first-up run. He’s gone enormous this afternoon and he continues to prove that he’s in for a blistering preparation, Traffic Warden.”
James McDonald claimed his 99th Group 1 winner in the process and couldn’t have been happier in his post-race assessment.
“He’s got way more (ability) than we can ever imagine,” said McDonald.
“Mate, he’s just a cool dude. The moment I’ve sat on him in the Fernhill, to see his development from race to race to race is just incredible. And he’s dead-set, he hasn’t gone up step by step, he’s skipped a couple.
“He’s that kind of horse. He was feeling the pinch 100 (metres) from home and just the fighting qualities in this horse, the turn of foot, the will to win, he’s just a marvellous horse.”
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