THE passing of time has a habit of dimming our memories, and the news this week of the death of Goldikova was a reminder for me of this fact. In a time period of some great racemares, the likes of Enable and Magical, it is easy to overlook the fact that Goldikova won 14, yes fourteen, Group 1s.

Remarkable. That is what she was. Owned and bred by the Wertheimer brothers, she was trained by Freddy Head and partnered, on all of her 27 career starts, by Olivier Peslier. Goldikova raced for five seasons, from two to six, and only once finished out of the first three. Her 17 victories saw her accumulate winnings of just over €5.2 million.

It took the superstar Sea The Stars to deny Goldikova the honour of being rated the best horse in the world in 2009, and she was unquestionably the best racemare of her era. A dual Group 1 winner in England, nine times successful at that level in France, it is in the USA that she has been acknowledged for her achievement in winning the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile in three consecutive years. They inducted her, in 2017, into the American Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

Let’s go back to the start. Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, who own the luxury brand Chanel, raced Goldikova’s dam Born Gold. That daughter of Blushing Groom (Red God) was runner-up on her debut at Evry at three, disappointed in her next four outings and changed trainers. Sent to a little-known track, Jallais, she finally got her head in front over an extended mile, before ending her career on the racecourse with a second-place finish at Lisieux.

Group 1 winner

Such performances would have meant little, except that Born Gold was born a year after her full-sister Gold Splash. By this time Gold Splash had won the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac at two, added the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot at three, and travelled to the USA and become a stakes winner there. A victory, no matter how small, would add greatly to Born Gold’s value.

Even without that success at Jallais, Born Gold was guaranteed her place in the breeding shed. Her dam Riviere D’Or (Lyphard) enjoyed her greatest victory in the Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary, and was runner-up in the Marcel Boussac at two and in the Group 1 Prix de Diane Hermes-French Oaks the following season. She was, in turn, the best of three stakes winners from Gold River (Riverman).

Gold River was owned and bred by the Wertheimer brothers’ father Jacques, and trained by Alec Head, father of Freddy. At three she won the Group 1 Prix Royal-Oak and was placed in the race at four. However, she did win the then Group 2 Prix Jean Prat, added another Group 1 to her tally in the Prix du Cadran, before having her name inscribed on the trophy for one of the world’s most prestigious races.

Ridden by Gary Moore, Gold River was victorious for the seventh time in her career when winning the 1981 Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. She defeated Bikala and another filly, April Run, along with 21 others. The opposition included Irish challengers King’s Lake, Blue Wind and Condessa, British raiders Ardross, Prince Bee, Cut Above and Pelerin, while the French also fielded Akarad, Tootens, Lancastrian and Detroit. What a quality field that was.

Born Gold

Back to Born Gold. Her limited ability on the racecourse thankfully did not transfer to the breeding barn and her achievements as a broodmare are almost faultless. She produced 15 foals, one of which, a colt Goldeo (Galileo), did not run. All but one of her 14 runners won, and six of them were stakes winners. Goldikova and her half-sister, the Group 1 Prix Vermeille winner Galikova (Galileo), were successful at the highest level.

Goldikova’s own-brother Anodin (Anabaa) followed in the footsteps of his own sire and went to stud at Haras du Quesnay. His first crop are five-year-olds and he will stand in 2021 at a fee of €7,000. A Group 3 winner, Anodin was runner-up in three of the best races in the world, to Kingman in the Prix Jacques Le Marois, to Cirrus Des Aigles in the Prix d’Ispahan and to Karakontie in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

Goldikova’s race record is published on this page, and needs no further elucidation. However, what of her record at stud? It is rare for a flat-bred mare to be heading to stud for the first time at the age of seven, but it was no surprise that Goldikova’s first port of call was back in the country of her own birth, Ireland, and a trip to Coolmore for a tryst with Galileo (Sadler’s Wells).

Broodmare record

In fact, for the nine years that she was at stud, Goldikova visited the multiple champion on six occasions, including in 2020. Sadly she was not in foal at the time of her death. On two other occasions she was covered by Dubawi (Dubai Millennium), and her sole offspring by the Dalham Hall stalwart is a three-year-old filly, Goldistyle, who is in training with Carlos Laffon-Parias.

To date Goldikova’s four runners have yielded two winners, one of them being Goldika (Intello). It is notable that the other, Terrakova (Galileo), won the Group 3 Prix Cleopatre and was third in the Group 1 Prix de Diane Longines-French Oaks. Terrakova may have her first runner this year as her first produce, a two-year-old named Mirakova (Lope De Vega), is with André Fabre.

Goldikova’s four-year-old daughter Alikova (Galileo) will surely be persisted with and an attempt made to win a small race with her, while the last produce of the great mare is also in training with Laffon-Parias, and he is a two-year-old colt called Lehman (Galileo).

Goldikova may be gone but she is not forgotten, and she may yet leave a further mark on the sport of kings through her daughters and son.