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#1
07-31-2006, 08:16 PM
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Godolphin's Failure in Europe...by some Irish Guy
I'll copy and paste the article and include the link: Regardless of the Shiekh's ambition to win the Kentucky Derby or American classics, their focus has been mainly on winning the big races in England and the U.K. since the beginning.
http://www.unison.ie/sportsdesk/hors...=19&si=1658966 Dubai strategy backfires Sunday July 23rd 2006 WHEN Echo of Light won last Saturday's Ladbroke Summer Mile on the all-weather at Lingfield, you could probably have heard the sigh of collective relief as far away as Nad Al Sheba. One of Sheikh Mohammed's favourite maxims reads "In the race for excellence there is no finish line". However, in the search for Group races this season - until last Saturday - Godolphin were not even at the starting gate. Indeed, since Deveron became the first of the powerful Godolphin fleet to compete on a UK racecourse on May 6, the performance of the Boys and Girls in Blue has been woefully lacklustre. It took until 15 July for the operation to lift its first Group race - and at that, it was a Group 3 on Lingfield's all-weather. If the Sheikh wanted sand, he didn't need to travel to Lingfield to get it. By Godolphin's exceedingly high standards, this season so far falls somewhere between exasperating and embarrassing. The Guineas meeting came and went. No runner could even be mustered for the Derby. Royal Ascot was tepid, and the Newmarket July meeting passed by without impact. Injuries to leading older horses Shawanda and Proclamation have further dented capability, while overseas Discreet Cat, who had been installed as favourite for the Kentucky Derby after his scintillating UAE Derby win in Dubai, has missed the whole of the US Triple Crown as well as his subsequent scheduled comeback in Belmont's Grade 2 Dwyer Stakes earlier this month. Indeed, until Echo of Light's win last Saturday, the blue silks managed just eight visits to the winners' enclosure all season. Not that last year was that fantastic either. In November, reflecting on the 2005 campaign, racing manager Simon Crisford said: "We had a disappointing year by our standards, despite nine Group 1 wins." If Simon had known that by July 15 of the following season one all-weather Group 3 would be all they had on their scorecard, I wonder how he would have felt? If this was the British Open, then Godolphin have hopelessly missed the cut. Indeed, his comment about the disappointment of last season's nine Group Ones was made during an extravagant winter shopping spree designed to ensure such 'disappointment' would not repeat itself in 2006. Palacegate Episode, winner of the Racing Post Trophy, was among a number of high-profile horses which Godolphin then revealed they had purchased to bolster their team for 2006. Godolphin's juvenile squad was further strengthened with the purchase of leading 1,000 Guineas contender Silca's Sister and Royal Proposal, Solario Stakes winner Opera Cape, the Mark Johnston-trained Winged Cupid, runner-up to Palace Episode at Doncaster, and the last-named's stablemate Stepping Up. Royal Lodge Stakes winner Leo and Deveron were also transferred to Saeed Bin Suroor's stable. Amongst the older horse fortification, St Leger runner-up The Geezer left David Elsworth for Dubai, while Iffraaj and Goodricke were also transferred, joining the likes of Proclamation and Imperial Stride, who had switched to Bin Suroor earlier. This flurry happened in November last year, while in December a further four were added to the swoop - With Interest, the most promising two-year-old at Andrew Balding's, and three very high-profile older horses, Pinson, Shawanda and Valixir. Simon Crisford reasoned at the time: "We always strengthen our team at this time of year. There were no obvious Classic contenders from this season's two-year-old crop and it might very well be that some of these horses run in Classic trials and Classics next season. But that is not why we bought them; we bought them for next year and the year after that." So with seemingly limitless resources, the strategy is to buy your way out of a crisis. Except that by almost halfway through this season many have either failed to appear at all, or, of those who have appeared, fallen miserably short of the required standard. Is it simply that all the Godolphin purchases are bad horses or that their selection policy is poor? There are too many and they have appeared too infrequently for that to be the case. So perhaps it is that Phase 2 of the strategy is flawed, and by Phase 2 I mean wintering in Dubai. It is one thing having the best horses. It is another having them tuned to the minute for precisely the right moment - which in its essence is the art of training thoroughbreds. One of the hallmarks of the Dubai horses is how well they look in their coats. Yet, the performance does not match the looks The strategy to winter in Dubai began as an experiment. It began 13 years ago and exploded out of the blocks with high-profile winners like Balanchine, Moonshell and Mark of Esteem. At the time it was considered by some to be an unfair competitive advantage verging on brinkmanship, but in the fullness of analysis is it turning out to be the Godolphin operation's Achilles heel? This is nowhere better reflected than in the Guineas. Despite specially convened trials in Dubai and advances in international horse transport, Godolphin colts have the sobering form figures of 592000000900 400 in the last six 2,000 Guineas. Their fillies' 1,000 Guineas showing in the same period of 0026000120 is a little better, but the combination of the two is still disappointing when you consider the resources at Godolphin's disposal. One of the hallmarks of the Dubai horses upon arrival is how well they look in their coats - a result of the nourishing sun versus damp and miserable western Europe. Yet, the performance based on the statistics lately does not match the looks. A possible ray of light as to why is shed in a book by Dr Reiner Klimke, an Olympic gold medallist in dressage. He said that he avoided competing on his horses while they were in their change of coat (spring and autumn) as he felt the horses were not at their best and would not perform to their ability. Whilst German riders and trainers are very organised and disciplined in their approach, they are in no way sentimental or soft with their animals in general. For Dr Klimke to make excuses for his horses' performance shows he was concerned that the changing of coat would make an appreciable difference to performance. Could it be that the Godolphin horses' metabolism and physiology is disturbed by swapping them to Dubai for the winter and that the early successes, judged too prematurely, were actually the exception rather than the rule? I mean, just because a coin turns up heads twice doesn't mean it will be heads forever. Could it be that they need time to re-acclimatise and that this is only coming to light in the recent winners' drought? Which brings us to Electrocutionist and next Saturday's King George. Arguably, as winner of last season's Juddmonte International, he was the king of the bling amongst Godolphin's winter spending spree. He lines up in the most important all-aged middle-distance championship heat of the whole summer - a traditional halfway review point of the season. He will be opposed by at least one of Godolphin's chief adversary's (Coolmore) inmates in Hurricane Run. This is a six-pointer and more. Rarely has the Sheikh's operation needed one so badly. All the omens are encouraging. In the week since Echo of Light's victory, the Boys in Blue have scored five from nine runners. Electrocutionist worked at 6am on Wednesday morning. Stablemates Count Trevisio and Roskilde were asked to give a good lead in their exercise over 7f of the watered gallop on Racecourse Side and, in the closing stages, Electrocutionist moved up easily to slot in between the pair as he finished in control without being pushed right out. "There are ten days to go to the race now, he feels fine and everything is in place," said a very pleased Frankie Dettori. Regular work-watchers were seriously impressed and bookmakers reacted by trimming his odds. In the short-term Godolphin need a big winner. In the long-term they might need a review of strategy. by Ian McClean 
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#2
07-31-2006, 08:22 PM
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As an aside to Mr. S. I. Guy's article.....
2006 GODOLPHIN WORLDWIDE RUNNERS HORSES RACES RUN WINS % (WINS TO RACES RUN) PRIZEMONEY 57 103 31 30.10% US$7,142,128.40 ..... and they shall have another winner tomorrow with Mr. Iffraaj, Esquire. 
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#3
07-31-2006, 08:27 PM
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#4
07-31-2006, 08:34 PM
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#5
08-01-2006, 10:02 AM
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So I was thinking..... since Iffraaj won ( where did Jeremy finish? I didn't get to see the race - TVG is down in my area and haven't yet watched the replay).....
How about if instead of sending it to me you just send it to one of these places (or another charity) in both our names..... http://www.vet.upenn.edu/newsandevents/news/Barbaro.htm http://www.oldfriendsequine.org/
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#6
08-01-2006, 11:18 AM
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#7
08-01-2006, 04:32 PM
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Let's do it again sometime.
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#8
08-01-2006, 05:41 PM
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You want to do one on the Sussex tomorrow?
I'll take Vanderlin to upset. And you can't pick Araafa because he will probably walk over them. haha 
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#9
08-02-2006, 09:11 AM
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 I've heard a lot of buzz about Vanderlin who I never would have considered. This is one of those sentimental races..... too many I like here. How about doing the Arlington (I call Ace!) Million? Let me know and good luck today. Last edited by my miss storm cat : 08-02-2006 at 12:24 PM.
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