Champions past, present and future grab the headlines

Last weekend’s Dubai Future Champions Festival at Newmarket delivered two sensational days of racing, with three Godolphin winners and several strong efforts in defeat.

Beckford’s Folly broke the two-year-old course record for five furlongs as he prevailed in a photo finish to Friday’s G3 Newmarket Academy Godolphin Beacon Project Cornwallis Stakes. Gelded since his previous start following some challenging behaviour, the son of Lope de Vega will be hoping to make his presence felt in some of next season’s top sprints.

Four-year-old filly Dubai Treasure also has Group races in her sights after making all for a convincing victory in the Listed Modern Games British EBF Boadicea Stakes on Saturday. She is due to winter in Dubai and take in Meydan’s sprint programme, with the G1 Al Quoz Sprint on Dubai World Cup Night a potential long-term aim.

Act Of Kindness won a maiden on Friday’s card and looks set to take in a Classic trial in the spring. Al Zanati did well to finish second in the G3 Emirates Autumn Stakes after racing freely, while Del Maro and First Conquest also put up good performances at the meeting.

Distant Storm couldn’t quite repeat his G3 Tattersalls Stakes heroics as he finished third behind fellow Night Of Thunder colt Gewan in the meeting’s feature race, the G1 Darley Dewhurst Stakes. Both horses look set to re-oppose back at Newmarket in the spring when they tackle the G1 2,000 Guineas.

Last season’s Dewhurst winner Shadow Of Light has been retired to take up stallion duties at Kildangan Stud in 2026. The brilliant son of Lope de Vega was crowned European Champion two-year-old for 2024 after becoming only the third horse to complete the Middle Park/Darley Dewhurst double since the Pattern began.

Narukami added a Jpn G1 victory to his progressive profile as he made all to decisively beat a deep field in the Japan Dirt Classic in Tokyo on Wednesday. The Thunder Snow colt has won five of his six starts and there are high hopes that he can make a similar impact to two-time dirt Champion Lemon Pop.

The Dubai World Cup, won twice by his sire, is a fitting target for the three-year-old, who will bid for more domestic G1 honours in the interim in either the Tokyo Daishoten or Champions Cup, with the latter race having been won by Lemon Pop for the past two years.

Off Trail has G1 ambitions of his own after he lowered the seven-furlong record at Kyoto with a swooping victory in the G2 Swan Stakes on Monday. The Farhh colt has yet to finish out of the first three in seven Kyoto appearances and will return to the same course for next month’s G1 Mile Championship.

Farhh is the only Godolphin winner of the G1 Champion Stakes, although the world’s highest-rated horse Ombudsman will be hoping to add his name to the roll of honour at Ascot this Saturday. Top stayer Trawlerman returns to the scene of his Gold Cup success on the same card as he bids to win the newly upgraded G1 British Champions Long Distance Cup for a second time.