Winner of the Group 1 Champagne Stakes (1600m) and Group 1 JJ Atkins (1600m) as a two-year-old, Broadsiding will attempt to become the first horse to win the Group 1 Golden Rose (1400m) first-up having hit the line well for second in an 1000m open trial at Hawkesbury on Tuesday.
James Cummings and Godolphin currently have the first and second favourites for the Golden Rose after stablemate Traffic Warden’s big win in Saturday’s Group 2 The Run To The Rose (1200m), and Cummings is happy with Broadsiding’s progression.
“He has put on nice condition, he has grown quite naturally and it hasn’t been too much so that it might be detrimental. As for improvement, I’ve kept it really simple with the horse and he is just coming to hand nicely,” Cummings said.
Broadsiding
The Group 1 winning @godolphin colt and Golden Rose favourite charges into second in a 1000m trial at @hawkesburyrc on Tuesday behind the @beermitchell trained Alicia Roma with Lucky Bay in third. @tabcomau pic.twitter.com/DnWICw0d4W
— Racing NSW (@racing_nsw) September 16, 2024
James Mcdonald made the trip to Hawkesbury having been aboard Broadsiding for both Group One wins and the colt wound up nicely late under light riding to finish a clear second to leader Alicia Roma.
Cummings won the Golden Rose with Bivouac in 2019 while also preparing Hallowed Crown with Grandfather Bart in 2014, but admits he does have another race in mind for the son of Too Darn Hot.
“We’re going to get through the Golden Rose first. The Caulfield Guineas is high on his agenda, but it’s not the only race that has been discussed,” Cummings said.
Only five horses have tackled the Golden Rose first-up from a spell since it became a Group 1 event in 2009 with Shinzo the latest to attempt it last year, finishing ninth.
The best of the quintet was Yankee Rose in 2016 who finished sixth while King Sabeel (2009), Hinchinbrook (2010) and Bachman (2014) all finished 12th.
Broadsiding has long been flagged as a leading three-year-old contender for the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m), following a similar path to Godolphin’s Anamoe, who won the Caulfield Guineas prior to his contentious defeat in the Cox Plate, for which he atoned the following year.
Broadsiding is nominated for the Cox Plate and while a start is likely if all goes to plan this Spring, Cummings is keeping his options open.
“We’re going to get through to the end of this month and next month we’ll have a far better idea of where we’re going.”
“It’s the nature of the spring, there are plenty of options.”
Broadsiding is a $3.50 favourite for the Golden Rose and a $9 chance for the Cox Plate.