Space Blues made a strong closing move to win the G1 Breeders’ Cup Mile by a half-length over Smooth Like Strait at Del Mar on 5 November.
It was the second victory of the weekend for Dubawi, whose juvenile son Modern Games took the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf the previous day.
The victory came after an eerily-similar situation prior to the Juvenile Turf, with the race being delayed briefly after Master of The Seas reared in the gate. As that Godolphin runner was scratched, the field was backed out and then reloaded.
Once the horses finally broke from the gate, California-based Smooth Like Strait went out to the lead. He set comfortable fractions through the first six furlongs while Space Blues cruised just off the pace.
Space Blues made his move in the stretch, surging by Smooth Like Strait who held on to finish second at 10-1 odds.
A homebred for Godolphin, Space Blues is out of the G2-winning Noverre mare Miss Lucifer, who is dam of three further winners including multiple Group winner and Stakes producer Shuruq. They are from the family of former Kildangan Stud flagbearer In The Wings.
Dubawi has sired a world-leading 37 Stakes winners in 2021, with nine of those winners coming since the start of October. In addition to his two Breeders’ Cup winners, Dubawi’s recent G1 winners include Creative Force (G1 British Champions Sprint Stakes) and Space Blues (G1 Prix de la Foret).
