A champion colt that competes at the top of his game for three seasons winning G1 races at two, three and four acquires a legion of fans along the way, so this week we are paying tribute to Anamoe, ahead of his first yearlings being sold next week at Magic Millions.
Like a lot of great champions in sport, be they human or equine, Anamoe entered into life endowed with lofty self confidence and physical charisma pre-installed.
The exuberant little foal was already “The Big A” in his own mind.
A couple of years later, after Anamoe had embarked on a stellar career and given notice of his greatness, Godolphin head trainer James Cummings said of his charge:
“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.”
A horse of consequence he surely proved to be!
This quality of a champion is not merely about ability or physical superiority, as vital as those things are to any great athlete.
Rather, it's the way they move through the world around them with a bold and unshakeable belief in their own "consequence" that is both natural and complete.
This commanding air is often described as arrogance. While these self- determined souls may be coached or trained, it is only ever on their own terms and strictly as a partnership.
Yet racehorses are lacking the convoluted egotistical concerns and identity wobbles of we poor humans.
Thus, they offer us a far more direct expression of this innate quality of self regard, one which is entirely without conceit.
We can simply stand before it in joyful reverence at the sheer power, excellence and beauty they display.
Let's face it, with our fellow humans we tend to suspect (and sadly are often proved right) that sooner or later that old ego monster will kick in and lead the champion we once admired so greatly to become…well, a bit of a jerk.
Yet even the greatest of racehorses - the ones that have lived and breathed in the air of public adulation (oh, they know!) - will retire with that special exuberant quality untainted, just as generous and pure as it was on the day it was born.
It’s why we love them and love our sport - because people frequently stuff up in this regard, but horses never do.
Even better, the great ones will pass ripples and echoes of their own consequence to the next generation of racehorses, to be loved by the next generation of racing fans!
Anamoe is “a great one” in every sense of the word.
He was born on the lush and historic paddocks of Godolphin's Woodlands Stud on 16th November, 2018.
The foal who was destined to carry the famous blue silks to nine glorious Group One victories had been conceived in Victoria, where his dam Anamato was served by Darley's exciting young sire Street Boss (USA) at Northwood Park.
Anamoe was the eighth foal from his G1 Schweppes Oaks winning dam, a daughter of the mighty Redoute's Choice who also held the rare distinction of being G1 placed in the USA.
Like many great horses, Anamoe was the product of patience, persistence and absolute faith in a particular mare.
Street Boss imparts to his best progeny an absolutely lethal and extended turn of foot and that proved to be the perfect foil for the G1 Oaks winning Anamato, who has a pedigree deep in Classic genetics.
In Part Two and Three of this story, we'll look at the now-retired Anamato, her breeding record and her own pedigree in detail, and chart the remarkable rise of Street Boss and his sireline in Australia.
But for now, let's focus on Anamoe the racing machine!
The late born colt was super athletic and fairly opinionated from the very first. As he grew, the young Anamoe required tactful handling.
Fortunately, he was surrounded by the finest of horsemanship skills from the moment of his birth, and the challenging energy of that quirky youngster would blossom into the magnificence of the mature, focused, competitive racehorse.
There haven't been many more imposing looking equines to stride the Australian turf in recent years than the galloper who soon acquired his nickname, “The Big A”.
At maturity he stood 16.1hh and over an abundance of ground. That scope and length along with plenty of muscle in all the right places allowed him to move with a fluid, easy power.
He was blessed with a particularly beautiful head and a happy expression in his eye - full of eager intelligence.
Physically, Anamoe inherited the best of both sire and dam, all but for colour! He is a striking rich bay brown, unlike either the brilliant chestnut Street Boss or the dark coated Anamato.
A masculine yet elegant stallion, the influence of Redoutes Choice as well as the awesome power of his sire Street Boss can very much be seen in Anamoe's overall frame, which combines strength with agility in near perfect proportion and balance.
Big in stature, big in presence.
“He’s an incredible animal that’s more than aware of his surroundings,” Godolphin's Racing and Bloodstock Manager Jason Walsh once remarked about Anamoe.
“He’s the same at the races and 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.”
James Cummings, with all the patience and skill learned alongside mentor Bart, and with his own serene brand of quiet confidence, was the perfect trainer for a horse like Anamoe.
He wasn’t afraid to let the horse be himself.
“The moment he gets out on the track, he’s a racehorse, he feels good about it, he gets the wind under his tail,” said James.
The wind was wafting under young Anamoe's tail when, despite being a late foal he arrived on the scene as a raw juvenile and opened his winning account at just his second start in the Listed Merson Cooper Stakes at Sandown. It was still two days before his second birthday.
It was then straight to G1 company and placings in the Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper were followed by his first elite level victory in the ATC Sires Produce Stakes (1400m).
What a win it was!
Winning rider James McDonald was ebullient.
“He is a marvellous horse. What he did in the Slipper was just incredible,” said the champion hoop.
"To come and do that to good quality horses in a Group 1 is just incredible. He is the Rolls Royce of two-year-old racing."
Returning at three, Anamoe had strengthened considerably and was assuming quite the imposing appearance, but he still wasn't the fully furnished product.
It didn't slow down his rise to superstardom.
A close second in the G1 ATC Golden Rose, Anamoe's next assignment was the time honoured G1 Caulfield Guineas, the Classic sire-making race. So much was riding on the outcome for everyone associated with the horse - and for the whole Darley operation in Australia.
Anamoe rose to the challenge and the moment with one of his best racetrack performances.
Ridden by Damien Oliver ( giving Ollie his first win in the famous G1 which had eluded him in his 31 years of riding!) there was something a little reminiscent in Anamoe's 2021 Caulfield Guineas triumph, of Lonhro's barnstorming win in the great race.
Comparisons with Lonhro are apt, because Anamoe's Caulfield Guineas victory came before he had officially turned three years old - the youngest winner of the race since the great son of Octagonal twenty years before.
Connections elected to give the colt his shot at the Cox Plate and with Ollie committed to Gold Trip it was Craig Williams that got the call to duty.
Well we all remember that fateful day! What an epic field it was.
Verry Elleegant, Gold Trip, Mo'unga, Probabeel… Anamoe took his place among them and Captivant was there too, as was Dalasan, Callsign Mav and of course the Cox Plate winner - the Joseph O'Brien trained State Of Rest, an Irish-bred son of Starspangledbanner.
Anamoe and Verry Elleegant went to post equal favourites with State Of Rest well in the market.
Should we really be talking about Anamoe as a two time Cox Plate winner? Was the incredible three year old robbed?
Willo had sooled Anamoe through the gaps to charge after State Of Rest who had hit the front at the top of the straight! The crowd roared with excitement as the two of them came clear to fight it out with Verry Elleegant coming home hard behind them.
Anamoe seemed to get his head in front 50m from the post - and in the latter stages of this heated battle let's just say that State Of Rest and Johnny Allen were travelling like a shopping trolley that not even Colesworth would deem fit for service.
Returning to scale, Willo fired in a protest immediately - one of the most dramatic protests in Australian racing history.
That history records that State Of Rest won the 2021 Cox Plate by a half head from Anamoe. After twenty minutes of deliberation in which the hushed crowd waited and speculated, the stewards dismissed Willo's objection and declared the interference suffered by Anamoe did not amount to more than “a brush”.
Wet tracks hampered Anamoe’s autumn campaign with the G1 Rosehill Guineas added to his tally, but in the spring the boy became a man and the transformation was awesome.
He resumed with his fourth G1 success, a brilliant win over the great mare Fangirl in the Winx Stakes and followed that up with number five - the time honoured George Main Stakes over another fantastic race mare, Icebath.
Back in Melbourne on a mission to avenge the Cox Plate debacle, Anamoe and jockey J Mac contested the G1 Might And Power Stakes.
Racing fans will always recall this race with awe and affection, it was an absolute ripper! A race of champions in a race named for a champion.
The streetfighting character that was Alligator Blood set the tone as he bowled along in the lead with his customary bravado - and there was just the feeling in the air that an epic was about to unfold.
Indeed it was.
Another tough customer Zaaki, moved up to eyeball the Alligator before the turn. Well the Alligator loved that.
The two of them burst into the straight mano a mano. Meanwhile another crowd favourite I'm Thunderstruck had taken a split and arrived on scene while Anamoe - who had box seated in behind them - was momentarily left flat footed. . All of these horses were crowd favourites - they were all great horses.
But only one was a true champion.
150m to go and Zaaki finally got the better of Alligator Blood and surged to the lead with I'm Thunderstruck coming home like a train. J Mac described what was going through his mind at this point:
"I think he just crabbed around Caulfield, I really do, I would have lost two or three lengths on the bend. I was right up the clacker of Zaaki and then I ended up drifting right back.
“Everything has been pretty easy for him, but I was wondering at the 400 (metres) if he was going to be there for me and he was there in spades.”
Anamoe would now attempt to become the first horse since Winx in 2016 to complete the Might And Power / Cox Plate double in the same season and claim a seventh G1!
Punters were all over it and were rightly vindicated.
His Cox Plate triumph elevated Anamoe to the position of Godolphin's most prolific G1 winner globally, exceeding the turf greats Daylami ( seven G1s, but only 6 of them for Godolphin) and Fantastic Light.
"He's the best horse I've had anything to do with, it's a humbling experience for me, it's got me a little lost for words," said the trainer who had just added his first Cox Plate to the Cummings family trophy cabinet.
But the Anamoe story was far from over and there were two more G1s to come the following autumn as he took both the Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) and George Ryder Stakes (1500m) at the expense of Fangirl.
Anamoe was crowned 2023 Australian Racehorse Of The Year - it was time to take up the next chapter in his incredible life story.
He left the racetrack with the imposing record of 14 wins and eight placings from 25 starts with prize money in excess of $11million, and as only the second Australian horse in more than 20 years to win a G1 race at two, three and four years.
Anamoe's retirement was an emotional moment for so many.
James Cummings said: “Our team is so proud of all he has achieved during his racing career. He has never let us down and has been there for us at every start. We wish him all the best in his retirement and we can't wait to see his progeny coming through the stables in years to come.”
Anamoe took pride of place on the prestigious Darley roster beside his old man Street Boss, and his initial fee was set at $121,000 - the highest of any Australian-based freshman sire in history.
