posted May 8, 2007

The Godolphin operation is a fascinating one. From early day success to the last few less fruitful years it has always been a bit of an enigma. By setting up an Academy they were always setting themselves up for a fall and is there any proof sending horses to Dubai for the winter aids them at all. Horses from Ireland have arguably not had any disadvantage by being in a rainswept cool country while the Sheikhs horses are getting suntans.

I feel the problem is more than just a breeding problem. The horses are impeccably bred and are also often bought in with decent form and or reputations. Fine the Maktous themselves are short of proven Classic sires but there are more on the conveyor belt and the introduction of stallions like Nayef at Shadwell will certainly help going forward.

The problem is surely in the training stables. With near to 400 horses in training in Newmarket it must be impossible to give every horse the best chance of proving itself. Also with the numbers in the yards there is always going to be a certain ammount of dross. A smaller elite team like there was in the early days is surely the way to go. In those days the two year olds were beautifully trained and conditioned by D Loder.

It is obvious to me there is a training problem within the team as other Maktoum horses with other trainers continue to flourish so much so that Sheikh Mohamed has increased his horses in training with Mark Johnston et al. For me it will be good to see the maroon and white silks bolting in again.

There are lots of trainers in Newmarket and assistants who all report in to Crisford and bin Garage. Crisford then reports to Sheikh Mo and the plans are made. There are too many lines of report and too many chiefs. There are plenty of staff and even a mosque but the people at the top cannot possibly have a good handle on every horse.

The future of Godolphin I am sure is safe but surely a bit of hindsight to the glory years should be revisited with just a cherry picked elite in the academy. I would love to see them back to their best...

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posted May 8, 2007

digimartine, what has eagle mountain got to do with a godolphin thread?!

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posted May 8, 2007

I agree with Tregoning the team is far too large and probably has moved away slightly from what it was first intended to do. As to using Coolmore stallions, I personally think that they too have a lot to answer for. Far too many stallions bred to much the same line i.e Northern Dancer covering mares with the same bloodlines!!

It can't be good for the breed to limit the gene pool so much. So I salute the likes of Sheikh Mo and the attempt to outcross to lines. Whilst they may show a tendancy to perform better on dirt, how are we to know if they can do it on grass when no-one gives them a go?

I think that they would be far better off looking at their bloodstock advisers and those people who carry out their mating plans as these people seem to be the ones who are letting the operation down.

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posted May 8, 2007

i thought all thoroughbreds derived from just 3 horses so these breeding issues are always gonna be happening.

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posted May 8, 2007

The problem is obviously the trainer, Dusty Bin is clueless! they should spread there
horses about, i would give 20 horses each to King Henry, Stoute,Johnstone and Hannon and see there fortunes change very quickly!

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posted May 8, 2007

Godolphin still has Measured Tempo for The Oaks. Measured Tempo was an impressive 20-runner winner in her debut a maiden at Newmarket. She is a fancied mile and quarter to half prospect. This Godolphin horse has been groomed win The Oaks and her trainer wants a good showing in The British Classics after a few years of poor preformances.
He does have Eastern Anthem too for The Derby. Apparently Frankie likes this horse alot.
I think Godolphin has concerntrated in other countries recently. I think you could see decent preformances from these two horses when June comes around.

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posted May 9, 2007

more likely to turn out to be another couple of duds though.

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posted May 9, 2007

Frankie may well like Eastern Anthem but I can't see him winning the derby on him, he got stuffed at newmarket in a sub standard derby trial.

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posted May 9, 2007

yeah eastern anthem was the one i was looking forward to being by singspiel out of kazia ,but in all honesty the horse looked slow on saturday and i cant see it winning any classic even s.crisford was a bit dissapointed the only race i think it could win would be the queens vase at royal ascot.

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posted May 14, 2007

haha Godolphin make me laugh. everything they have seems to be sired by Green Desert. If they started using coolmore stallions they'd actually breed some decent horses. They've got to sort things out. I used to like Godolphin but now they are just a laughing stock.

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