Godolphin's First Mission, scratched from the 2023 Preakness Stakes (G1) due to a left hind ankle injury that shorted his 3-year-old campaign, is making up for lost time this year.
Racing May 3 in the $730,000 Alysheba Stakes (G2) on Kentucky Oaks (G1) day at Churchill Downs, the son of Street Sense notched a second consecutive graded stakes victory by running down Japanese longshot T O Saint Denis and pulling away to a four-length victory. It followed a five-length score in the March 23 Essex Handicap (G3) at Oaklawn Park and a ninth-place finish in the Jan. 27 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) in his only other start of 2024.
Michael Banahan, Godolphin's director of bloodstock, was all smiles after their homebred's performance in the Alysheba. He sees First Mission as a viable candidate for a race such as the $1 million Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs June 29.
"We feel like he's that type of horse," Banahan said of the colt, who improved to 5-2-0 in eight starts. His earnings stand at $1,273,020.
The Stephen Foster is a Breeders' Cup Challenge event for the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar.
First Mission raced 1 1/16 miles on a sloppy track under Florent Geroux in 1:42.03. The Brad Cox trainee paid $4.14 for a $2 win bet as the favorite.
In taking the Alysheba immediately after capturing the Unbridled Sidney Stakes (G3T) on Ova Charged and the La Troienne Stakes (G1) aboard 2023 champion older female Idiomatic, Geroux notched a third consecutive graded stakes victory on the Kentucky Oaks card. Cox also trains Idiomatic.
The trainer credited Geroux for the rider's patience in the Alysheba. Geroux rated him in third place early on the inside, as 27-1 shot T O Saint Denis busted out to a clear lead, setting quick fractions of :22.96, :46.77, and 1:10.45 under Japanese rider Ryusei Sakai.
"We didn't want to be up there with him," Cox said.
Despite the lively fractions set by T O Saint Denis, the Japanese raider held second, though he was gassed late. In front by two lengths in midstretch, he weakened noticeably in the final furlong, though he lasted by a nose to place over Il Miracolo.
T O Saint Denis entered the race with a 2-for-22 record and had been outworked by Kentucky Derby (G1) participant T O Password this week in a breeze at Churchill Downs. Daisuke Takayanagi trains both horses for owner Tomoya Ozasa.
Canadian-based Kazushi Kimura, a native of Japan, rides T O Password in the May 4 Kentucky Derby, while Sakai will be aboard Forever Young, the colt widely deemed to be Japan's best Derby chance.
"It was a great advantage to ride today. I got to know the track," Sakai said in comments translated by Japanese racing manager Hiroshi Ando. "I'm feeling well to ride tomorrow."
"He ran a huge race," Geroux said of T O Saint Denis. "Deep in the stretch, my horse was picking up his stride, and he finished very easily."
First Mission, winner of last year's Lexington Stakes (G3), was bred in Kentucky out of the Medaglia d'Oro mare Elude. He is a dark bay or brown son of Street Sense, the 2007 Kentucky Derby winner who stands for $60,000 at Darley in Kentucky. First Mission is one of three graded stakes winners this year for his sire, a top-20 stallion in North America in 2023 and again this year.
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