‘I’m honoured to be part of such a dynamic organisation’
Makiv appointed managing director of Godolphin Australia
Andy Makiv has been appointed as Godolphin Australia new managing director, it was announced on Thursday.
Makiv, who has worked in various roles at the company in Victoria, becomes the third head of the operation that has had a major presence in Australia since 2008, and replaces Vin Cox after he departed Godolphin Australia last October to take up the role as Yulong’s general manager.
“It is a new phase in my career and it has been a very ‘Godolphin’ career,” Makiv told ANZ Bloodstock News. “I’m honoured to be part of such a dynamic organisation. I’m excited to continue working with our great people, elite bloodstock and world-class facilities as we pursue further success both on the track and with our stallion roster.”
Having joined Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s global operation as a nominations manager of Darley Victoria in 2008, Makiv was then promoted to general manager in the state and was most recently the company’s head of sales.
“I have enjoyed a great 15 years at the company starting as the nominations manager in Victoria, before progressing to general manager Victoria overseeing Carbine Lodge and Northwood Park, where I oversaw sales as well and was then head of sales,” said Makiv.
“It is nice to be considered for such a role and nice for it to be an internal promotion and I’m certainly looking forward to the challenge and excited for what lies ahead.”
Flying the flag for Godolphin on the track this season are some ultra talented homebreds in the shape of dual Group 1-winning juvenile Broadsiding (Too Darn Hot), last weekend’s Run To The Rose (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Traffic Warden (Street Boss) and Pericles (Street Boss), a strong fancy for Saturday’s Underwood Stakes (Gr 1, 1800m) at Caulfield.
As with any new appointment changes are likely to ensue, but Makiv is conscious to keep the status quo of how Godolphin produces future successful stallions and broodmares.
“I am very conscious we are an operation that starts on the studs, we are in the stallion business and starts with great stud managers and their teams that look after the broodmares, the foals and it is on the farm that we start the education process,” he said.
“The racing stable then takes that on after that, and horses like Traffic Warden and Broadsiding, who are heading towards Group 1s, are testament to the fact we are getting it right on the farms and at the racing stables.
“Those systems have been in place for a long time, long before me and I am sure they will continue to drive excellence and that is what we are about – trying to produce the next stallions and the mothers of the next stallions.
“The operation starts on the farm, goes to the racetrack and hopefully the cycle of stallions and great broodmare continues.”
As for the stallions, eight of which stand at Darley’s Northwood Park base in Victoria, while New South Wales’s Kelvinside is home to nine of the operation’s inmates, including multiple Group 1-winning champion Anamoe (Street Boss), whose first foals are hitting the ground this season.
While foundation sires like the recently pensioned Exceed And Excel (Danehill) and the late Lonhro (Octagonal) are no longer on the roster, Makiv believes the farm is in an exciting period of transition in terms of sire power.
“We have a young stallion roster,” he said. “We are in a transition phase – the great stallions like Exceed And Excel, Lonhro and Street Cry have retired or passed on, so the next phase for us is very much Anamoe, Bivouac, Pinatubo etc.
“But we are having a really good run this spring with horses by Harry Angel and Street Boss and we have a great colt by Too Darn Hot. So while he didn’t come down, we have one of his dual Group 1-winning sons in the wings, so the stallion roster is young, but very exciting. We think the future looks really bright and we are excited about what is ahead.”
Anamoe’s sire Street Boss (Street Cry) is very much leading the way and has enjoyed a blistering start to the season, with his 12 winners from 52 starters headed by Memsie Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) scorer Pinstriped.
With a host of exciting horses being aimed at Group 1s, including Another Wil, who is raced by Col McKenna, with whom Makiv has carved a successful long-standing personal and professional relationship with, Street Boss looks set to enjoy his best season on record.
He stands at Northwood for $66,000 (inc GST), a figure Makiv believes makes him the best value stallion standing in Australia.
“I think Street Boss is the best value stallion in the country. Pinstriped has won a Group 1 this season, Pericles is favourite in a Group 1 this Saturday, Another Wil is one of the favourites for the Toorak in a couple of weeks and Traffic Warden is one of the favourites for the Golden Rose,” he said.
“He is an outstanding stallion prospect for breeders and we will continue to use him like we have in previous seasons. He is a touch older, but the way he is finishing he will leave his mark on the Australian breeding landscape.”