IT possibly comes as a surprise to some that the mighty Godolphin organisation had not won America’s most coveted race, the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby. On Saturday, they put that to right with Sovereignty (Into Mischief).

Gaining his third win in six starts, the Godolphin homebred Sovereignty had his maiden success at two on his third outing in the Grade 3 Street Sense Stakes. On his three-year-old bow this year, he impressed when taking the honours in the Grade 2 Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes, and came out second best to Tappan Street (Into Mischief) in the Grade 1 Florida Derby. He thus becomes the third Kentucky Derby winner in five years for Into Mischief (Harlan’s Holiday), following Authentic (2010) and the promoted Mandaloun the next year. He is also grandsire of last year’s winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents).

With three winners of the race, Into Mischief is now tied with four other stallions for the most successes in the Kentucky Derby, and Spendthrift Farms’ star sire, who covers at $250,000, is 20 this year. Six-time champion sire in the USA, he has sired 173 stakes winners, and 24 of these have been at racing’s highest order.

Sovereignty is one of five foals from her unraced dam Crowned (Bernardini). For a long time, she looked to have been an expensive failure, having cost John Ferguson, on behalf of Godolphin, $1.2 million as a yearling at Keeneland. Her appeal was obvious, being by a Darley sire out of Mushka (Empire Maker), winner of the Grade 1 Spinster Stakes and runner-up in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic. Mushka had also been a sales star, realising $1.6 million as a yearling, and $2.4 million at three.

Untimely death

Sovereignty’s dam Crowned died last year after foaling her fifth offspring, a now yearling colt by Nyquist (Uncle Mo). Three of her first four foals were named, all are full-sisters, and the other pair are made up of a winner and a placed runner.

The five foals out of Crowned matches the number produced by her dam Mushka who suffered from fertility issues. Three of her five won, one of which was placed in a stakes race. Mushka was one of three winners from the stakes winner Sluice (Seeking The Gold), and the only one of them to earn any blacktype. Sluice was a daughter of a really special racemare in Lakeway (Seattle Slew).

Trained by Gary Jones for owner-breeder Michael Rutherford, Lakeway won half of her 14 starts, and was out of the first three once. She had a wonderful season as a three-year-old when she raced six times, all Grade 1s, before being injured in August. She won for times, including the Hollywood Oaks and Santa Anita Oaks, and was runner-up twice. Lakeway returned to racing after more than a year and won a Grade 2.

Oaks winner

Godolphin started the weekend at Churchill Down in great style, their homebred Good Cheer (Medaglia D’Oro) landing the $1.5 million Longines Kentucky Oaks, and in so doing giving her sire a third winner of the classic.

When Rachel Alexandra won the race in 2009, she gave the Jonabell-based Medaglia D’Oro (El Prado) a perfect start to his career at stud, a classic winner in his first crop. Two years later and she was joined on that roster by Plum Pretty. Now, in his seventeenth crop, he has sired a third winner of the race.

Winner of the Grade 1 Travers Stakes and runner-up in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, Breeders’ Cup Classic twice and the Group 1 Dubai World Cup, Medaglia D’Oro is responsible for 28 Group or Grade 1 winners, and breeders who used him this year could get him for $75,000.

Last year, showing his continued popularity in spite of his advancing years (he is 26), a yearling son sold for $1.35 million, and was the 56th seven-figure sales horse Medaglia D’Oro sired.

When you consider that his progeny includes the brilliant Hong Kong multiple champion Golden Sixty, and such as Rachel Alexandra, Songbird and Talismanic, no wonder his popularity has lasted. This year he is also sire of Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational winner Spirit Of St Louis, and that gelding capped a great weekend for Medaglia D’Oro when adding the $1 million Grade 1 Old Forester Turf Classic at Churchill Downs.

Remains unbeaten

When she won her second start last year, an allowance at Churchill Downs, Good Cheer did so by 17 lengths. She followed up with two stakes wins at the same track, the Listed Rags To Riches Stakes and the Grade 2 Golden Rod Stakes. She became a clear fancy for the Oaks when, in two prior starts this season, she collected a pair of Grade 2 races, appropriately the Rachel Alexandra Stakes, and most recently the Fair Ground Oaks. Good Cheer remains unbeaten now in seven starts.

Bred in Kentucky, Good Cheer is out of the Grade 1-winning Street Sense (Street Cry) mare, Wedding Toast. During her racing career for Godolphin, Wedding Toast captured both the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Stakes and Grade 1 Beldame Stakes. In addition to Good Cheer, Wedding Toast is the dam of the UAE listed-winning gelding, Ya Hayati (Dubawi). Last year Wedding Toast foaled an own-sister to Good Cheer.

While Wedding Toast’s grandam Mari’s Sheba (Mari’s Book) was placed in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks, she never won a stakes race. At stud she made up for that and bred five-time Grade 1 winner Congaree (Arazi) who placed in two legs of the US Triple Crown.