Julian Muscat Commentary – From The Times
Had it happened 20 years ago, André Fabre's recruitment by Sheikh Mohammed would have made front-page headlines everywhere. The alliance between the world's biggest owner and arguably the world's best trainer represents a marriage in thoroughbred heaven.
In those 20 years, however, Sheikh Mohammed's appetite for big deals has served to blunt their impact. That is almost certainly why Fabre's decision to take in 110 of his horses has attracted minimal comment. Yet it is highly significant. The deal with Fabre, ostensibly to prime young horses for Godolphin, is the best bit of business the sheikh has done in years.
Never mind those multimillion-dollar yearling purchases, Fabre's recruitment fills a gaping hole within the sheikh's set-up. Any trainer is only ever as good as his horses. The biggest problem annually for Godolphin is finding sufficient horses to compete on a global scale. That should no longer be an issue.
No other trainer can match Fabre's deeds. He is a master who gives horses time, bringing them forward only when they are ready. Swain was a perfect example. From an unconventional preparation by Fabre, Swain finished a fine third in the 1995 Arc before his transfer to Godolphin and successive victories in the King George. Doyen and Papineau were other Godolphin stars who benefited for their early tutelage with Fabre.
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
The alliance makes sense for both parties. For the first time in 22 seasons, Fabre has competition for the French trainers' title. The mercurial handler has suffered for the passing of his principal owner, Jean-Luc Lagardere. His relationship with the Aga Khan, who bought all the Lagardere horses, survived just two seasons. His career was in a state of flux.
The most interesting aspect of the relationship will involve the transfer of horses to Godolphin. Historically, Godolphin stock up with back-end two-year-olds but given Fabre's prowess, it will be a waste of his talent if he does not keep some raw three-year-olds to campaign alongside horses belonging to the handful of other owners he retains.
For Sheikh Mohammed, the union should resolve the perennially thorny issue of plucking back-end two-year-olds from the stables of his British trainers. While most trainers have become compliant, the process has always been too inexact a science. There are countless examples of unraced two-year-olds, their ability apparently indecipherable, which blossom at three.
Having a successful juvenile academy is fundamental to Godolphin's future. The concept failed ten years ago when David Loder was installed at Evry racecourse, which proved wholly inadequate for the purpose. In the interim, however, Godolphin have been unable to bring forward their own in sufficient numbers.
Contrary to common perception, this isn't surprising. Every year trainers recoil at the prospect of taking in young horses, many of them riddled with highly contagious respiratory diseases whose spread can decimate strings. Besides, training two-year-olds is an entirely different discipline to training older horses. It has been noticeable down the years how even the best struggle to excel with both simultaneously.
Godolphin had already streamlined their juvenile intake prior to the sheikh's link with Fabre. A further reduction in juvenile numbers is on the cards. Godolphin are better off with Fabre concentrating on the juveniles while they campaign the older horses with which they forged their reputation.
It will help Godolphin immeasurably that Fabre is a realist. He will deliver an expertly marked card during the annual handover. He constantly counsels against high expectations of horses he remains unconvinced about - witness his early-season caution over Getaway and Proviso, neither of which has achieved what many expected.
If Sheikh Mohammed has spent prolifically to arrest his sliding fortunes, his increased patronage of Fabre is the brightest ray of hope.
