Anamoe's Golden destiny awaits

Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy

On the honour board of the G1 Golden Rose sits three winners who have worn the Godolphin blue and a further two which carried the maroon and white of Darley. Star colt Anamoe will look to continue that dominance when he lines up as favourite in Saturday's edition at Rosehill.

That global powerhouse of Godolphin would target an early-season Group 1 race for 3-year-old sprinters with its colts, to build credentials suitable for a future Darley stallion should be no surprise. Nor should their record of success in the race.

Beginning with Denman winning the inaugural Group 1 edition in 2009, Darley/Godolphin has also made stallions of Epaulette, Exosphere, Astern and most recently Bivouac through Golden Rose victories.

Gallery: Previous winners of the G1 Golden Rose

What is quite amazing is that success has been achieved with just 13 runners in total across the 12 editions of the Golden Rose. As well as five winners, Darley/Godolphin has had three placegetters in the race. Godolphin has had just one runner in the past three editions, 2019 winner Bivouac.

"It's an important race, because it's one of very few opportunities for sprinting 3-year-old colts to attain that Group 1 status," Cox told TDN AusNZ.

"It sits well in the program. You can step from a Golden Rose into open-class sprints or you can continue down the 3-year-old path to Melbourne towards a race like the Coolmore Stud S.

"Those two races are the only Group 1 sprints for those 3-year-olds, because by the time autumn comes around, to attain that Group 1 glory you have to step up against the open-age sprinters. It sits really well in the early part of the season and it’s an important race for those colts who need that on their resume."

A Rose blooms

Cox was working on the Australian Pattern Committee when the Golden Rose was elevated to Group 1 status in 2009, four years after it had replaced the Peter Pan S. on the calendar and was given a $1 million prizemoney status.

Initially starting off as a Listed race when Paratroopers (Commands) won it in 2005, it progressed to Group 3 status in 2006, Group 2 in 2008 and then to the top rung on the ladder the following year. Cox said it was the right fit in the calendar and in terms of quality to make such rapid progress in status.

"There was a bit of a leap of faith there from the Pattern Committee. The race club and Racing NSW put $1 million against it and the Pattern Committee in a relatively short time frame applied Group 1 status to it," Cox said.

"Looking at what it’s become, it's justifiably a Group 1 race and gives a real imprimatur to the value of those colt prospects."

Indeed 10 of the 11 colts to have won the race at Group 1 level are standing in Australia in 2021.

Cummings has a special affiliation with the race in which he marked his first-ever Group 1 success in combination with his legendary grandfather Bart Cummings in 2014, with Hallowed Crown.

He won it again with Godolphin colt Bivouac two years ago, setting that stallion up for a career at Darley as a stallion, before he went on to win two more Group 1 races.

Charting his own path

Anamoe is chasing his own history on Saturday as he would be the first Godolphin/Darley horse to win a G1 Golden Rose, having also won a Group 1 as a 2-year-old, in his case the G1 Inglis Sires'. There has been only one 2-year-old Group 1 winner overall to go on and win the race as a Group 1, The Autumn Sun in 2018, who won the G1 JJ Atkins as a juvenile.

While the son of Street Boss (USA) has already proven his mettle as a stallion prospect with a Group 1 success, a win on Saturday elevates him to a different level, according to Cox.

"It’s always good to have these colts that are Group 1 winners in their 2-year-old year and then in their 3-year-old classic year as well. It franks their 2-year-old form and so it’s a great addition to their bow," Cox said.

"Our business is to try and prove these colts and it’s a good race to do that. We are very proud of the success we have had in the race and it’s a race that we do put very much on the radar of our best 3-year-olds."

As a stallion, he would be the first son of Street Boss to stand at Darley in Australia, his second son overall, behind Rosemont Stud resident Hanseatic. He would also add considerable momentum to the legacy of his grandsire Street Cry (Ire), who Darley shuttled to Australia for nine seasons.

On his dam's side, Anamoe is out of a Group 1-winning Redoute's Choice mare, Anamato, providing an impressive resume for a future stallion career.

A special talent

So how special is Anamoe, and where does he sit in comparison to the parade of Godolphin/Darley horses that have tasted success in the G1 Golden Rose S. before?

"We are pretty excited about him and with good reason. He's a horse that has always given you the sense that he would improve with age," Cox said.

"What he did as a 2-year-old was really a bonus to us. He was a very precocious horse, but his physique and pedigree is such that it suggests he will race on. We think he's a very, very good horse and I know that James has got an extremely high opinion of him."

Saturday could prove a defining moment in terms of advancing his commercial stallion credentials, and Cox has been assured by his trainer that the colt has continued to improve from his first-up win in the G2 Run to the Rose S. where he defeated three of his main rivals on Saturday.

"All I got from James on Tuesday was a text saying, 'The horse worked very well and is in perfect order'. And that's all I really need to know," he said.

Anamoe's path after Saturday will also be closely charted. He holds nominations for the G1 Caulfield Guineas and G1 Cox Plate, while he has been linked to Godolphin's slot in The Everest. Cox said no discussions will be held until after this week's racing, which also sees a host of other Godolphin possibilities for The Everest in action.

"We are in the fortunate position that we have Trekking in the (G1) Moir S., we’ve got Anamoe in the Golden Rose and we’ve got Paulele in the (Listed) Heritage, which looks a very strong edition of that race," he said.

"We have also got Ingratiating in the Danehill on Saturday week as well. All four of those horses are in ideal races to give you some sort of bearing as to where they would sit in terms of going forward to The Everest."

Table: Godolphin/Darley historical runners in the G1 Golden Rose S.