Godolphin Returns to Classic Stage With Two in KY Oaks

From the sands of Dubai to the lawns of Royal Ascot, the Godolphin outfit has captured one coveted prize to the next, yet there are two of the world's most prestigious trophies that have eluded the sapphire and ivory silks of the global powerhouse: the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and the Kentucky Derby (G1).

Two years ago, trainer Brad Cox nearly gave Godolphin its first Derby winner with two-time Eclipse Award winner Essential Quality  . The champion son of Tapit  , wide throughout during the 1 1/4 trip under the Twin Spires, rallied boldly down the lane but had to settle for fourth in a memorable 2021 running of the race where he was elevated to third place months later following Medina Spirit's disqualification. Essential Quality would then return four weeks later to give Godolphin their first American classic triumph in the Belmont Stakes (G1).

And now the organization revisits America's grandest stage with not one, but two, excellent chances to win the May 5 Kentucky Oaks.

"Anytime you have an opportunity to win a classic race everyone gets excited about it," said Michael Banahan, Godolphin's Director of Bloodstock. "We've never won (the Oaks before) but we've placed in it so going in there with two very live opportunities this year is really fantastic for everyone at Godolphin and the whole organization."

Wet Paint , trained by two-time Eclipse Award winner Brad Cox, will go to post as the likely morning-line favorite in the $1.25 million classic for 3-year-old fillies.

"To win the Oaks for Godolphin would be amazing," Cox said. "Especially with a filly like this who's a homebred. It would be huge for their organization. They have a world-class broodmare band and she'll obviously be added to that at some point, but if she can go out a Kentucky Oaks winner that'd be huge."

The daughter of Blame   joined Cox's barn as a 2-year-old and coasted along under the radar for the majority of her 2-year-old season. Lacking the striking size and flashy workout times of her counterparts, Wet Paint's ascent to Cox's stable star was mainly earned through her sheer consistency in the afternoons.

"She was not a filly who was a super-fast workhorse or just tipped her hand to us immediately," Cox said. "But neither was Monomoy Girl (2018 Kentucky Oaks winner trained by Cox) and look what she accomplished. We always liked (Wet Paint) but we weren't sure what we had."

Just like Monomoy Girl six years earlier, Wet Paint broke her maiden at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Indiana, circling the field in a last-to-first performance.

Wet Paint's patented late run had become her lethal weapon over the winter, as she thrice overwhelmed her rivals through a sweep of Oaklawn Park's series of Oaks prep races for sophomore fillies. No matter the pace or track condition, it was a sure bet Wet Paint would come flying late to seize the victory.

"You sometimes worry about pace. But she ran into what I thought was a pretty moderate to slow pace in the Honeybee (Stakes, G3) and she was still able to close up on the inside," Cox said. "Wet Paint breaks, takes her time, and finds her way.

"The first part of the race she's not involved at all and then she starts picking it up at the half-mile and puts in a big run. That's her. That's how she runs and what gets her to the winner's circle. We're not going to change any of that."

Wet Paint solidified her place at the top of the Kentucky Oaks points leaderboard with a 2 1/2 length score in the Fantasy Stakes (G3) April 1.

The late-running filly is the second foal produced from the mare Sky Painter. A daughter of Godolphin's Dubai World Cup (G1)-winning stallion Street Cry, Sky Painter flashed sparks of potential as a 2-year-old, graduating in her debut at Saratoga Race Course before finishing a narrow second on the grass in the Miss Grillo Stakes (G3T). While Wet Paint didn't inherit her mother's penchant for the turf, she certainly takes after her second dam, Skylighter, who landed two graded stakes around two turns on the dirt under the Godolphin colors.

"(Wet Paint is) from an old solid family for Godolphin that keeps producing good stakes winners year in and year out," Banahan said. "We have (graded stakes winner) Pixelate  from the same family that's still running. It's been a great family for us."

The Godolphin fillies took to their early lessons under saddle at Bridlewood Farm in Ocala, Fla. Although both were well-received, the elegant Pretty Mischievous  was a standout from the get-go. The daughter of perennial leading sire Into Mischief   is out of the grade 1 winner Pretty City Dancer, a Tapit mare acquired by Godolphin for a lofty $3.5 million while in utero to Medaglia d'Oro   at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale.

"(Pretty Mischievous) has always shown us she was going to be a very nice filly," Banahan said. "We've only had Pretty City Dancer for a few years and Pretty Mischievous is her first foal with a mating by us, which makes it pretty special. (Pretty City Dancer) was a beautiful mare at the sale and a grade 1-winning 2-year-old. We were very glad to have had the opportunity to buy her."

Brendan Walsh, the trainer of Pretty Mischievous, was keen on the fleet-footed filly from the beginning. After graduating with flying colors in her debut at Churchill Downs last September, she added an allowance score and stakes-placing to her C.V. before nabbing her first black-type tally in the Untapable Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Pretty Mischievous then rose into Oaks contention with a hard-fought win in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2). While she was passed in the final stages of the March 25 Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) to be second to Southlawn , Walsh hasn't lost faith in his filly.

"I thought she ran really well last time," Walsh said. "Obviously we were disappointed that she didn't win but it kind of set up for someone to close on her. The combination of her getting a little lonely on the front end, I think she lacked a bit of concentration, and I truly believe if somebody had taken her a little farther (on the front end) she might have won, maybe not, but it would've helped us for sure."

Walsh has trained numerous stakes winners for Godolphin over the years, with multiple grade 1 victors Maxfield   and Santin  among them.

"There's no two ways about it, they're a huge client of mine and we've had a great relationship with some really good horses," Walsh said. "I've been blessed to have them so it would really be extra satisfying to win (the Oaks) for them."

A blanket of lilies for either filly would only add to the Godolphin legacy began by founder Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum five decades ago.

"We love to compete in the better races globally," Banahan said. "And obviously the classic races in America are the ones we'd love to be competing in and trying to win every year.

"The Oaks really is the only classic race for fillies in America, and obviously Godolphin has had a lot of success in the Oaks in England, Ireland, and France so it would certainly be nice to add another Oaks title in the U.S."