Godolphin

He was indeed part of the Stonerside deal - along with some very very nice mares.

Chock A Block in the old Predominate tommorow - have had a few quid on him for the Derby at three figure prices, very impressed with his run in France last backend :)
 
Looked a potential Derby winner last year and now nothing :(

Sheikh Mo's transferred IMO the most promising 3yo filly in France to Godolphin too so I doubt we'll be seeing her again either :(
 
He's begining to look very bad and losing a lot of faith with his fans and racing supporters. I have no problem with Sheikh and his operation but some people become very attatched to horses like me and Kite Wood, Ibn Khaldun and I have become very disapointed to see them fail to progress.
 
I am no fan of this operation and their recent record with horses is atrocious. My favourite stat was still the one about how much they'd spent on Storm Cats though!

That said, I've fancied and backed a couple of their horses already this season and that is very much unlike me. For some reason, I am starting to fancy them to have a decent year.
 
They'll have a good year - there's no doubt about it that 2008 was one of their best. Problem from a European perspective is that the big prize for Godolphin is Group 1's and they picked up a hatful with Cocoa Beach and Music Note last year, and one in Canada with Folk Opera. That will always be Sheikh Mo's priority.
 
Irish Stamp said:
They'll have a good year - there's no doubt about it that 2008 was one of their best. Problem from a European perspective is that the big prize for Godolphin is Group 1's and they picked up a hatful with Cocoa Beach and Music Note last year, and one in Canada with Folk Opera. That will always be Sheikh Mo's priority.
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Cocoa Beach is such a quality animal. Im really hoping they give Zenyatta a go again on any surface as I believe she has the beating of her.. Dont know if I necessarily agree with them having a very good year last year though.
 
You can't be serious. If you're seriously thinking they can improve their jockey, or even he is partly responsible for their poor form in recent years, i would think you are not seeing the bigger picture.
 
Gamla Stan said:
Agreed, they have some very exciting prospects.
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Agreed, but if you take one of them being Eastern Anthem ... they had him for several years, where he showed little, and it's only when he was transferred to another trainer he showed a high level of form. Hard to say is the improvement due to age or training methods.
 
Hamm said:
You can't be serious. If you're seriously thinking they can improve their jockey, or even he is partly responsible for their poor form in recent years, i would think you are not seeing the bigger picture.
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Why can't I? I could name at least ten jockeys curently riding who I would rather have than him. McEvoy is a far better jockey than him to begin with, and he is not included in my ten. I know he chose to go home but a real shame European racing lost him. Dettori is partly responsible because of his attitude. If he thinks something can't win, he doesn't give the ride his 100%. He is on a massive retainer et al and has no incentive other then personal glory to have to worry about where a horse finishes. As a lot of people think he can do not wrong, it's not his fault when the horse doesn't win.
I am perfectly aware of the bigger picture. Their breeding operation is too insular but they fail to act on it. If they were a football team, a fair number of the leading players would have been transferred or sacked long ago.
It speaks volumes for Sheik Mohammed that he has stuck with the people he has for as long as he has, but it doesn't seem to be getting him anywhere.
 
Absolute nonsense, he's the best tactical jockey and the best judge of pace around. He was a different class at York at last week.

He'd be in the top 5 jockeys riding at the moment, I'd love to hear the ten better than him.

People just love bashing him because of his image but he is not only one of the best in the game, he's also a huge asset to the sport.
 
Hamm said:
Agreed, but if you take one of them being Eastern Anthem ... they had him for several years, where he showed little, and it's only when he was transferred to another trainer he showed a high level of form. Hard to say is the improvement due to age or training methods.
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Possible improvement due to a change of vet and medication maybe?
 
Gamla Stan said:
Absolute nonsense, he's the best tactical jockey and the best judge of pace around. He was a different class at York at last week.

He'd be in the top 5 jockeys riding at the moment, I'd love to hear the ten better than him.

People just love bashing him because of his image but he is not only one of the best in the game, he's also a huge asset to the sport.
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Absolute nonsense. You said it.
 
I just can't see how he's in any way a contributing factor to Godolphin's poor performances?

When has his riding cost them Group honours in the last 3-4 years?
 
That is the only example I can think of, Ballydoyle have suffered much more from jockey error over the years than Godolphin. He's been nothing but excellent and consistent for them and I think most yards would bend over backwards to have a stable jockey not only of his stature, but also his ability.
 
Ballydoyle has not had one stable jockey as long as he has been number one choice for Godolphin, so it could be argued you are comparing apples with pears.
I am supposed to be working and have half my mind on that but two examples of him costing them group races over the years; Noverre beaten at Ascot by Summoner, and Fantastic Light in the KGAQEDS.
Racing can be largely a matter of personal opinions. If you wanted him to ride a horse of yours, that's entirely your prerogative. Personally, I wouldn't let him near anything which belonged to me.
 
Those two incidents are well over 7 years ago, I agree Dubawi was a shocker but of the top jockeys riding now, I could think of way more major cock ups than that.

That's quite different from suggesting that Godolphin have suffered from having him as the stable jockey though? I appreciate he's not everyone's cup of tea and whilst not agreeing myself, that's fair enough but Godolphin have only benefited from his loyal and consistency.
 
Change the jockey tomorrow and it is not going have a huge turn around form. Buy Coolmore horses, stop sending the horses to Dubai, leave horses after purchase with their trainer to ensure no loss of form but run them under the Godolphin ownership banner, cut down in numbers etc...
 
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