Balanchine, Godolphin’s first classic winner and springboard to the superpower status they hold today, has died at age 30.

The flying filly was also jockey Frankie Dettori’s first British classic winner when rampaging through the mud on the stands’ side in the 1994 Energizer Epsom Oaks (G1).The daughter of European champion 2-year-old Storm Bird was bred by Robert Sangster’s Swettenham Stud and won her two starts as a juvenile in impressive fashion in the famous Sangster silks, before being purchased privately by Maktoum Al Maktoum.Trained by Hilal Ibrahim, she finished a short-head runner-up to Las Meninas in the Madagans One Thousand Guineas (G1) under Dettori, but made no mistake in the Epsom Oaks when romping to a 2 1/2-length victory over Wind in Her Hair (subsequently the dam of Deep Impact).

Balanchine was then tasked with taking on the colts in the Budweiser Irish Derby (G1) and was even better, slamming King’s Theatre by 4 1/2 lengths and recording a career-best Racing Post Rating of 129.

Balanchine went on to produce four winners at stud, including the group 2-placed Gulf News, runner-up in the Prix Niel Casino Barriere d’Enghien Les Bains (G2) for Andre Fabre, and Balsamine, who is herself the dam of the promising Charlie Appleby-trained 3-year-old Western Symphon