By Steve Sherack
Godolphin homebred Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro) unleashed a powerful run on the far turn and made it a perfect four-for-four with an off-the-pace victory in Saturday's GII Golden Rod Stakes at Churchill Downs, good for 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. 'TDN Rising Star' Quietside (Malibu Moon) was 2 1/2 lengths back in second. Eclatant (Into Mischief) was third.
Favored at 3-5 off a 4 3/4-length success in the track-and-trip Rags To Riches Stakes Oct. 27, the bay filly bumped with a rival shortly after the start and raced in an inside fifth beneath Luis Saez through fractions of :24.31 and :48.66. Good Cheer began to catch the eye with a four-wide sweep on the far turn and poked her white-and-blue blinkers in front approaching the quarter pole. She set sail for home from there, opened a 2 1/2-length advantage at the stretch call and kept on motoring down the lane to stay perfect.
Good Cheer debuted with an 8 1/4-length victory going a mile around two turns at Indiana Aug. 5, then added an allowance by a jaw-dropping 17 lengths in the Churchill Downs slop Sept. 28. She defeated four rivals while making her stakes debut in the Rags To Riches while pairing up career-best 86 Beyer Speed Figures.
Sheikh Mohammed's operation and trainer Brad Cox also campaign the unbeaten GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Immersive (Nyquist), a slam dunk to be crowned as the champion 2-year-old filly of 2024 at January's Eclipse Awards.
“Her record really speaks for itself and the style in which she's won all of those races has been very impressive,” Cox said. “She is another testament to Godolphin's program. She's handled everything we've done with her, so far, extremely well and I think we haven't seen her best yet.”
Saez added, “She's been so impressive in all four of her starts so far. She was really tugging at me around the turn and I knew it was time to go. She finished up really well down the lane.”
Pedigree Notes:
Good Cheer becomes the 95th graded/group winner worldwide for Medaglia d'Oro. Good Cheer is bred on the same Medaglia d'Oro x Street Cry (Ire) cross as Dream Lith, winner of this same race in 2021. Good Cheer's dam, the two-time Grade I winner Wedding Toast, had a filly by Medaglia d'Oro in 2024 and was bred back to Into Mischief. Good Cheer's Stonerside Stable-bred unraced second dam Golden Sheba (Coronado's Quest) is a half-sister to MGISW Congaree (Arazi).
Good Cheer is too good in the G2 Golden Rod at @churchilldowns for trainer @bradcoxracing with @luissaezpty aboard! 🏆🏆
🎥 #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/xivu5wZ3nn
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) November 30, 2024
Saturday, Churchill Downs
GOLDEN ROD S.-GII, $400,000, Churchill Downs, 11-30, 2yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:43.26, ft.
1–GOOD CHEER, 122, f, 2, by Medaglia d'Oro
1st Dam: Wedding Toast (MGISW, $1,419,956), by
Street Sense
2nd Dam: Golden Sheba, by Coronado's Quest
3rd Dam: Mari's Sheba, by Mari's Book
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O/B-Godolphin, LLC (KY); T-Brad
Cox; J-Luis Saez. $242,470. Lifetime Record: 4-4-0-0,
$457,630. *1/2 to Ya Hayati (Dubawi {Ire}), SW-UAE,
$246,924. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for
the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or the free
Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Quietside, 122, f, 2, Malibu Moon–Benner Island, by
Speightstown. O/B-Shortleaf Stable, Inc. (KY); T-John
Alexander Ortiz. $78,700.
3–Eclatant, 122, f, 2, Into Mischief–Downside Scenario, by
Scat Daddy. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
O-Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred
Holdings LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $39,350.
Margins: 2HF, 6, HD. Odds: 0.66, 3.71, 2.47.
Also Ran: Sturgeon Moon, Flash Wear, Fixin to Bee, My Lil Punky.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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