James Cummings describes them as the “alpha males” of the Godolphin operation and colts Broadsiding and Traffic Warden will do battle to hold that stable honour outright when they clash in a thrilling edition of Golden Rose.
A dual Group 1 winner at two, Broadsiding will be attempting to become the first horse to claim the Golden Rose (1400m) at his spring return, while Traffic Warden has followed a more traditional route as a first-up winner of The Run To The Rose (1200m).
Both arrive at Saturday’s $1 million feature with undeniable credentials and Cummings says their respective performances in the race will be pivotal for the global racing and breeding giant, especially for Broadsiding, arguably the county’s benchmark juvenile who is out to maintain his standing at three.
“It’s lonely up there at the top, they’re all going to come at him, and he’s got to keep beating them,”‘ Cummings said.
“He’s got the aura, he certainly has swagger, and the staff around him give him plenty of space and plenty of respect when they’re handling the horse because he is the alpha male at Osborne Park at the moment. They both are really.
“It will be the most important race at Rosehill on Saturday and a very, very important race for our season in terms of these two colts.”
While horse has won the Golden Rose first-up, Cummings is unwavering in his view it is the right path for Broadsiding.
His four career-wins have been over 1400m and 1600m and having given him a solid grounding, Godolphin’s head trainer says the rest is up to the horse.
“The right approach with Broadsiding was to have him first-up at seven furlongs and we have him spot-on in lung and limb, ready to do combat,” he said.
“It will be a big ask, but it doesn’t matter whether you are first-up or fifth-up in a Group One, it’s a big ask and horses have to rise to the occasion.
“All we can do is have confidence in our process and we are confident we have him where we need to have him.”
Cummings reports that Traffic Warden has likewise thrived since his Run To The Rose win, the race that has provided nine of the past 12 Golden Rose winners.
His only query is an awkward draw in barrier nine, although Cummings anticipates there being sufficient speed for Traffic Warden to find a spot behind the leading group and he is buoyed by the notion the colt is yet to reach his ceiling.
“As far as Traffic Warden goes, he’s got that rare pattern in a racehorse that every time he comes to the races, he elevates his rating, runs PB after PB, and you don’t see that very often,” Cummings sad.
“From our perspective that’s an exciting prospect, that’s he’s got more to offer.”
Godolphin’s pair sit atop Golden Rose markets with Broadsiding the $3.30 betting site favourite to break the race’s first-up hoodoo, while Traffic Warden is a solid $4 second pick.