Anamoe a real thing of beauty

Trackside at Randwick on Saturday I had the pure pleasure of watching Anamoe (Street Boss) in the flesh for the first time.

I was totally captivated and so were those sitting with and around me in the grandstand. Shortly after he careered away with the eighth Group 1 victory of his career in the Chipping Norton Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m), a lady within earshot turned to her friends and said “aren’t we just so lucky, he’s still racing and not been retired to stud.”

And how right she is. We are all savouring every single moment he steps out on the racetrack before he inevitably slips away to the breeding barn.

The big bay colt is one of the most magnificent thoroughbreds you will ever have the good fortune of laying your eyes on and he has exceptional racing ability to match his supreme good looks.

Godolphin’s Racing and Bloodstock Manager Jason Walsh has been in Anamoe’s inner sanctum since the horse was born and there’s not many people that would know him or be able to describe him better.

“He is one of the most special horses and he knows it. He carries himself with the presence that good horses do.

“He’s an incredible animal that’s more than aware of his surroundings,” said Walsh.

It was mesmerising observing him arrogantly trot back to scale on Saturday. He had an extraordinary air about him as though he owned Randwick Racecourse for those few minutes.

“Of all the superlatives that one can conjure to describe him it’s his charisma and quality and intangible presence that separates those at the top of their game,” Walsh adds.

Anamoe is a racing rockstar and Walsh says what you see centre stage is what you get behind the scenes.

“He’s like that at home. He’s a horse that’s very much like the alpha. He doesn’t like to be made to do anything and does it when he’s ready and has that presence and charisma that top athletes have in any sport when they come into a competition.”

All those qualities have helped propel him to 13 wins from 23 starts earning him just over $10 million in prize money. 

A quirky, and at times challenging horse when he was younger, it’s also been the good horsemanship that’s surrounded him since birth that’s been instrumental in seeing him realise his full potential as a racehorse.

Walsh says: “He’s very capable of letting you know he’s the boss. Everyone has to be careful with him, but that’s not to say that under saddle on the track and on race day he’s ironed out the kinks people might have seen in him as a younger horse.

“One of the reasons he’s been able to elevate into his four-year-old season is that he’s matured mentally as much as he has physically.

“His maturity has manifested in his behaviour on race day.”

Anamoe has his trainer James Cummings doing his fair share of problemsolving. After Saturday’s win Cummings said to media:

“We don’t like [Anamoe] sitting in the Theatre of the Horse too long, sweating up. That’s not what he enjoys. The moment he gets out on the track, he’s a racehorse, he feels good about it, he gets the wind under his tail.”

Anamoe is an imposing type of horse and that adds to his mystique when he’s stretched out at full gallop.

Cummings added: “He’s got good scope. He’s very athletic and always has been and there’s always been something about his head that suggested he was a highquality animal. His quality was evident as a yearling. I’m very fortunate that I see them from birth right the way through and he was a very highly regarded horse when he left the farm. There was every reason to think he would be a horse of consequence.”

Walsh, who has worked with Godolphin for 14 years, knows only too well how rare horses of Anamoe’s ilk are.

“We are very fortunate to have him it’s as simple as that. Being here as long as I have, I know how difficult it is to produce a horse like him and so it’s important to savour it.”

It is envisaged that the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) winner of last year will only have two more starts in Australia before he aims to prove himself on the international stage in the Queen Anne and Prince of Wales at Royal Ascot.

“Sheikh Mohammed has taken a keen interest in his career and it’s one of the reasons why a trip to the northern hemisphere is a goal we feel is important to showcase him to the world and to show he has been the driving force of our business down here. He represents everything that we are striving to do,” Walsh said. 

The blue army is leaning towards next running Anamoe in the George Ryder Stakes (Gr 1, 1500m) in three weeks time with the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) likely to be his final Australian performance.

There’s not much of the Anamoe show left to run so let’s enjoy every moment while we can just like Walsh and the rest of the Godolphin team is.

“It’s important racing needs its stars and horses that resonate and he’s a horse that’s resonated with our business globally. It’s wonderful that he’s doing that and carrying the colours of Sheikh Mohammed.

“His aspiration to race at the top level enables us to keep racing Anamoe and when he finishes, he will be a hugely soughtafter product at stud at the end of the year.”

Privacy Preference Center

Advertising

Cookies that are primarily for advertising purposes

DSID, IDE

Analytics

These are used to track user interaction and detect potential problems. These help us improve our services by providing analytical data on how users use this site.

_ga, _gid, _hjid, _hjIncludedInSample,
1P_JAR, ANID, APISID, CONSENT, HSID, NID, S, SAPISID, SEARCH_SAMESITE, SID, SIDCC, SSID,