'These Are The Moments That Give You That Lift' – Tuthill Eyeing Phoenix Glory With Sun Goddess

With the yearling sales season just around the corner, John Tuthill of Owenstown Stud is hoping to arrive at Doncaster for his first gig of the summer with an extra spring in his step courtesy of Sun Goddess (Sioux Nation), the star graduate of last year's Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale who heads to the Curragh on Sunday as one of the market leaders for the G1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes.

Tuthill, of course, is no stranger to top-level success, having bred familiar names such as Excelebration, Persuasive and Art Power during his three decades at the helm of the farm in Maynooth, Co. Kildare.

As ever in this game, though, it can sometimes be a while between drinks, hence why Tuthill is keen to savour every moment of this exciting new chapter with Sun Goddess, who was last seen winning the G2 Airlie Stud Stakes over the Phoenix course and distance.

“It's already dream territory for a young mare, it really is,” Tuthill says of the journey thus far with Sun Goddess, the third foal out of the unraced Etoile Bleu (Starspangledbanner). “It's great and we'd love it if she could go on and do better again. I mean, wow, even to win a Group 2 was fantastic. It's exciting times.”

Exciting and unexpected, perhaps, with Tuthill having nothing like such grand plans when he acquired the then-five-year-old Etoile Bleu for 60,000gns at the 2022 Tattersalls December Mares Sale. Nor did her first two foals do much to inspire confidence when they made it to the racecourse, with neither horse managing to win a race from eight combined starts.

“I bought Etoile Bleu when she was carrying a Churchill [the now-three-year-old Meritocratic],” Tuthill recalls. “He wasn't as exciting as Sun Goddess! But she [Etoile Bleu] has a great pedigree and there was just something about her at the sales that made me think that it was worth her staying on my list. I was incredibly lucky, and delighted, to get her for 60,000gns.

“When you buy mares, it's always a bit of a lottery. I've bought a lot of mares over the years and a lot of them haven't worked out. But, just now and again, something comes good. This one has gone the right way so far, anyway.”

Tuthill credits his wife, Clare, with setting them on the path that ultimately led them to Sun Goddess, a filly who instantly had a serene quality to her, the breeder explains.

“Sioux Nation is a fantastic stallion, a very imposing individual and very robust. I think it was my wife Clare who came up with the mating and, so far, we're very happy with the result,” Tuthill continues.

“When you foal them, sometimes you just get that feeling that everything is right about it. She had good body and good limbs. She was on her feet early and suckling early – all of the boxes were ticked. It was one of those moments where you go, 'Yeah, that's okay.' It's nice when one of those goes on and becomes a decent racehorse.”

Whilst Tuthill might have thought that he had a nice filly on his hands, it wasn't until Sun Goddess went under the hammer at the Premier Yearling Sale that he received the ultimate seal of approval, with one of the best judges in the game, Avenue Bloodstock's Mark McStay, signing for the filly on behalf of another, MV Magnier, at £120,000.

Tuthill, who is set to return to Doncaster later this month with a three-strong draft of yearlings, confesses to being a big fan of the sale, especially with young horses that take everything in their stride à la Sun Goddess.

He explains, “We had long conversations at sales selection time and there were good reasons to sell her at the Premier Yearling Sale. She came to hand early enough. Because that sale is quite early, it can be quite hard to get some of them looking as well as they might. I've brought some to the sale that have been a bit babyish and haven't matured quite as fast as you would have liked, although it doesn't stop them from being racehorses.

“That Premier Yearling Sale is a sale that I like. I've sold good horses there before [including the three-time Group 1 winner Excelebration] and I think it's a more straightforward sale. If you go to the Orby Sale or Book 1 or Book 2 at Tattersalls, expectations can be a little bit too high for the commercial horse. That's what Sun Goddess was, a commercial horse.”

He continues, “One always hopes for big prices, but the mare was still unproven. You're in the wilderness years there. Until you've got some wins on the board or a bit of black type, you're really selling on the looks of the progeny as much as anything else. There was promise in the pedigree, but with young mares you have to wait. You think, 'Have I made the right stallion selection to produce something that's going to bring this mare on into the next level?'

“You have to wait and see but, to get £120,000 for the third foal, that was good, really good. Sioux Nation wasn't standing for an outrageous price (€17,500) at that time so, commercially, we got a good return on our money. It keeps the ball rolling, you know.”

Sun Goddess (left) winning the Airlie Stud Stakes | Racingfotos

Now, the ball rolls on to the Curragh on Sunday, with Tuthill all the while having multiple balls to juggle back home at Owenstown as the countdown to the start of the yearling sales season continues apace.

All of the bubbles remain very much intact at this stage, with a Blue Point half-sister to Sun Goddess perhaps set to be burdened with the heaviest weight of expectation when she goes through the ring at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Tuthill also gives a favourable mention to a Sioux Nation colt out of Quickstep Lady (Australia) going to Book 1 of the Goffs Orby, the same sale where his Mehmas half-brother sold to Juddmonte for €440,000 last year.

“Results like that don't happen very often,” Tuthill chuckles. “I hope that the Mehmas [since named Warrior Knight and in training with Andrew Balding] does well. He hasn't run yet, but fingers crossed for him. He was not a small horse. He had plenty of stature and he maybe wasn't typical of a Mehmas because of that. The Sioux Nation half-brother is of similar stature, which is less of a surprise. He's another lovely horse with a good walk and a great outlook.

“I've got a very nice bunch of yearlings this year. They're spread out across the various sales and I'm going to be happy to stand outside the stable of any one of them – any one of them could have been a standout in some of the years that I've had.”

He adds of the sibling to Sun Goddess, “She's a very nice filly and she walks well. She's only just started her prep, so it's hard to really judge her. But so far, touch wood, she does everything nicely. There are similarities [with Sun Goddess]. Hopefully, the similarities are going to be on the racetrack! They're by very different sires but, yeah, I'm excited by her.”

Describing the possibility of a significant update for the Blue Point filly as “huge”, Tuthill has already had more than one result to smile about on that front in recent weeks.

In addition to Sun Goddess winning the Airlie Stud Stakes – just eight days after she occupied the runner-up spot in the G3 Albany Stakes – Thesecretadversary (St Mark's Basilica) has been another flagbearer for this family in 2026, notably going one place better than Sun Goddess at Royal Ascot when winning the G3 Jersey Stakes, before making the breakthrough at the top level with his victory in last month's Prix Jean Prat at Deauville.

Whilst Etoile Bleu was herself unraced, she is a half-sister to no fewer than four black-type performers, including Gibraltar Blue (Rock Of Gibraltar), a multiple Group 2 winner in South Africa, and the classy sprinter Scream Blue Murder (Oratorio). Scream Blue Murder, who achieved her most notable win in the G3 Phoenix Sprint Stakes, which takes place on the undercard at the Curragh on Sunday, is the granddam of Thesecretadversary through her Listed-winning daughter Too Soon To Panic (Gleneagles).

“It's exciting to have a current family like this. It just helps to create a positive vibe about what you're selling,” says Tuthill, who reveals that Etoile Bleu is currently in foal to No Nay Never, before again allowing himself a moment to revel in the anticipation of what Sunday might bring.

“We have a lot going on, with yearlings to prep and so forth, but I'll try to be there,” he concludes. “I wasn't able to get there [when Sun Goddess won the Airlie Stud Stakes] but, my goodness, I was shouting at the television!

“These occasions are so rare. You know, you don't phone me very often. That's how rare they are – I'm not exactly on your speed dial! When these days come along, they make up for so many disappointments, so many frustrations and so many times when it's cold, it's pouring with rain and you have to get up at 3 o'clock in the morning because something is going wrong. These are the moments that give you that lift and allow you to put some of the worries behind you for a while.”