Godolphin Racing is the Maktoum family's private thoroughbred horseracing stable and was named in honour of the Godolphin Arabian, who came from the desert to become one of the three founding stallions of the modern thoroughbred.
UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the driving force behind Godolphin. He also owns the Darley Stud breeding operation. Godolphin's first runner and winner was Cutwater (GB) at Nad Al Sheba, Dubai on December 24, 1992 while Godolphin's international operation commenced in 1994. The stable has training facilities in both Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Newmarket, United Kingdom.
Horses are wintered in Dubai, then travel each April to Godolphin's UK-based Godolphin Stables, which is the former Stanley House Stables, built in 1903 by Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby or to the historic Moulton Paddocks which is also located in Newmarket.
Godolphin registered its 100th Group/Grade One win with Sulamani in the 2003 Arlington Million. Since then, the stable has won a further 99 Group/Grade One races around the globe.
Personnel
- The stable's jockeys are Mickael Barzalona and Silvestre De Sousa. Emirati jockey Ahmed Ajtebi also rides for the stable.
- Godolphin's racing manager is Simon Crisford.
- Godolphin has horses in training with: Saeed bin Suroor,Mahmood Al Zarooni, Andre Fabre (FR), Kiaran McLaughlin (USA) Tom Albertrani (USA), Eoin Harty (USA) and Jim Bolger (IRE).
Horses
Some of Godolphin's Hall Of Fame horses include:
- Almutawakel
- Balanchine
- Blue Bunting
- Campanologist
- Cape Verdi
- Daylami
- Discreet Cat
- Dubai Millennium
- Dubawi
- Electrocutionist
- Fantastic Light
- Gladiatorus
- Kayf Tara
- Kazzia
- Lammtarra
- Mark of Esteem
- Moon Ballad
- Moonshell
- Music Note
- Mutafaweq
- Ramonti
- Refuse To Bend
- Rewilding
- Sakhee
- Shamardal
- Street Cry
- Big Dave
- Swain
Facts & Figures
- Godolphin has won over 2,000 races worldwide and numerous awards since its inception in 1992.
- Godolphin's most successful years numerically are 2009 (202 winners), 2010 (200 winners) and 2011 (186 winners).
- Godolphin won an Eclipse Award for Champion Owner at the 39th annual Eclipse Awards ceremony held on Monday evening, January 18, 2010 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, USA. It was the first time that Godolphin won the award for top North American owner.
- Godolphin's Saeed bin Suroor has been crowned Champion Trainer in Great Britain on four occasions (1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004).
- Godolphin has been crowned Champion British Owner on seven occasions - 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2006 & 2007.
- Over 200 different jockeys have ridden for Godolphin.
- The stable has had winners in 14 different countries (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Qatar, Singapore, Turkey, UAE, United Kingdom & USA).
- Godolphin horses have run at 129 racecourses worldwide. The stable gained further international success in September 2009 when the well-travelled Balius provided Godolphin with their first win in Turkey in the Group Two Anatolia Trophy at Veliefendi Race Course.
External links
- Godolphin website
Famous quotes containing the words godolphin and/or racing:
“Lord, when the wise men came from far,
Led to thy cradle by a star,
Then did the shepherds too rejoice,
Instructed by thy angel’s voice.
Blest were the wise men in their skill,
And shepherds in their harmless will.”
—Sidney Godolphin (1610–1693)
“Upscale people are fixated with food simply because they are now able to eat so much of it without getting fat, and the reason they don’t get fat is that they maintain a profligate level of calorie expenditure. The very same people whose evenings begin with melted goat’s cheese ... get up at dawn to run, break for a mid-morning aerobics class, and watch the evening news while racing on a stationary bicycle.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)