Grade 1 Winner Queen Goddess Retired
By: Byron King BloodHorse
Queen Goddess , a grade 1 winner for trainer Michael McCarthy, has been retired, co-owner Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners announced.
Aron Wellman, the partnership’s president and founder, said she would be bred to record-setting sire Into Mischief and sold in the fall with consignor Bluewater Sales.
“We certainly think she’s a collector’s item,” he said. “On her own—her physique, her track record and her pedigree—she’s one of those fillies that really has it all. … It’s early in the breeding season. We can get an early cover to the man himself, Into Mischief. We think that adds every bit of pop and added value to what’s already an incredible broodmare prospect.”
Bred in Kentucky by TOLO Thoroughbreds, who partnered with Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners in Queen Goddess following a promising debut through the first half of her career, Queen Goddess retires at the age of 6 with earnings of $862,580. Among her most prestigious wins were a 2 3/4-length score in an off-the-turf rendition of the 2021 American Oaks (G1) and a victory over grade 1 winners Shantisara and Dalika in the 2023 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational Stakes (G3T).
© BENOIT PHOTO
The daughter of Empire Maker—Royal Story , by Lemon Drop Kid made her last start in the Jan. 27 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf, finishing ninth behind Didia .
Queen Goddess sold for $1,525,000 at The November Sale in 2022 at Fasig-Tipton, after which she raced for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber.
She had been pointed to the March 9 Beholder Mile (G1) at Santa Anita Park before a hind ankle injury developed.
“She was a really special filly to be associated with,” Wellman said. “I feel very fortunate that Geoff Nixon of TOLO Thoroughbreds, who bred her and originally owned her, allowed us to buy into her after her debut in July of her 3-year-old season, and by December of that year, she was a grade one winner.
“So she certainly owed us nothing and then managed to give us two more fantastic seasons with a few more graded stakes wins, including the Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf, which occurred after Gary Barber, one of our great partners and a great stakeholder in the game on many levels, bought out TOLO (at Fasig-Tipton) after her 4-year-old season.
“I’m glad that she rewarded his faith in her and Eclipse with that monumental victory at Gulfstream. So she just took Eclipse and our partners and Gary on an awesome ride for three seasons.
“It was just another work of art by Michael McCarthy, who continues to prove time and again that, given the right horse or horses, he certainly knows how to get to the top of the mountain.”