Godolphin

Godolphin enjoyed a stellar 2009, with the famous royal blue silks being carried to a record 202 successes, easily smashing the operation’s previous best tally of 133 in a calendar year.

Allied to that achievement, Godolphin horses under the care of trainer Saeed bin Suroor notched 13 Group/Grade One triumphs around the globe, including victory in the world’s oldest Classic race, the English St Leger.

Those 13 top-flight wins came in America, France, Italy and the UK. The first on August 2, when Seventh Street set the ball rolling in the Go For Wand Stakes at Saratoga. And how that ball rolled!

Six days later, Flashing blitzed to victory in the Test Stakes and before the month was out the brilliant Music Note had stormed to a five and a quarter length verdict over Indian Blessing in the Ballerina Stakes, both at the upper New York State venue. But Saratoga had not finished giving up her spoils as, on September 5, Pyro delivered his trademark late burst to clinch the Forego Stakes in the final strides.

With the American arm of the team in searing form, it was not long before the European-based horses matched that level. At a sunny Doncaster on September 12, Mastery battled gamely under Ted Durcan to overcome stable companion Kite Wood and Frankie Dettori to clinch the historic St Leger. Mastery’s success marked Godolphin’s fifth victory in the world’s oldest Classic, which dates back to 1776. The three-year-old has finished in the first four in all nine starts and also won the Group Two Derby Italiano at Rome in May.

October yielded no less than five further top level successes for the team on both sides of the Atlantic. Music Note, a Godolphin stalwart over two seasons, led that month’s charge when clinching her fifth career Grade One triumph in the Beldame Stakes at Belmont Park on October 3. The four-year-old A.P. Indy filly earned a deserved retirement when finishing third on her final start in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic at Santa Anita the following month.

Eight days after Music Note’s second success of the year, a global double saw Gayego storm to victory in the Grade One Ancient Title Stakes at Santa Anita, while in Italy, Gladiatorus returned to something like the form that had seen him win the Dubai Duty Free at Nad Al Sheba in March when running away with the Premio Vittorio di Capua at San Siro racetrack.

Further Italian Group One success followed on October 18 when Schiaparelli landed the Gran Premio del Jockey Club E Coppa d’Oro.

The month closed with Vineyard Haven, who was first past the post in Saratoga’s Grade One King’s Bishop Stakes in August before being demoted to second for causing interference, sprinting to glory in the Grade One Frank J De Francis Memorial Dash at Laurel Park in the US.

The Group/Grade One run of success showed no sign of abating as November brought further satisfaction for the team.

Vale Of York, a consistent performer all season in Europe, gave Godolphin its fourth Breeders’ Cup triumph when winning the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Stakes at Santa Anita, California, on November 7.

A week later, Passion For Gold posted one of the most impressive two-year-old victories seen all year when slamming a Group One field by an easy six lengths in France’s Criterium de Saint-Cloud to raise hopes for 2010.

Godolphin’s 13th and final Grade/Group One of 2009 came on November 28, when the three-year–old Flashing stepped out over nine furlongs in the Gazelle Stakes at Aqueduct, USA. The A.P. Indy filly could well be the natural successor to Music Note.

The year had commenced well enough with My Indy winning the first two rounds of the Group Three Maktoum Challenge at Nad Al Sheba, Dubai, in January and February. The stable’s fine form continued on Dubai World Cup night in March when Two Step Salsa danced to victory in the Group Two Godolphin Mile and Regal Ransom beat stable companion Desert Party, the pair clear, in the Group Two UAE Derby.

But the European campaign took a little longer to hit top gear.

However, Godolphin is one of the most successful operations in world racing and it was not long before the hard work of the team and the talent of the horses brought improved results. The winners started flooding in and from July through to November, the strike-rate did not drop below an excellent 28 per cent. November itself saw 19 wins in the UK from just 34 runners.

Globally, Godolphin ended 2009 with an enviable 27 per cent strike-rate. In the US, the team enjoyed another excellent campaign. Alongside the aforementioned Grade One triumphs, Regal Ransom, who had started the year with victory in the UAE Derby at Nad Al Sheba, won the Grade Two Super Derby. Girolamo also scored at that level in the Jerome Handicap and Sara Louise landed the Grade Two Top Flight Handicap as well as the Grade Three Victory Ride Stakes.

It was on US soil that Godolphin hit another remarkable landmark. Pyro’s triumph in the Grade One Forego Stakes at Saratoga on September 5 was the international stable’s 150th victory at the highest level. The number had risen to 159 by the end of 2009.

A few weeks earlier, at Deauville, France on August 23, Schiaparelli’s Prix Kergorlay success had brought Godolphn’s total number of Group/Grade and Listed wins to 500. The giant chesnut enjoyed a fantastic year, having also won the Group Two Coutts Goodwood Cup at Glorious Goodwood at the beginning of August.

Other notable achievements for the stable this year included Age Of Reason’s win in the Qatar International Cup on February 26, and the success of Balius in the Group Two Anatolia Trophy Stakes at Veliefendi, Turkey on September 2. They were the first Godolphin victories in those countries and raised the total number of countries in which the team has triumphed to 14.

Futurist’s victory in a maiden at Pontefract, UK, on October 5 was Godolphin’s 134th success of the year - the highest annual total ever.

Further highlights from the year included Cavalryman’s win in the Group Two Prix Niel prior to a meritorious third to the brilliant Sea The Stars in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. The juveniles Sand Vixen and Poet’s Voice showed plenty of promise for their three-year-old campaigns with victories at Group Two level in the Flying Childers and Champagne Stakes respectively at Doncaster.

Royal Ascot would not be the same without a Godolphin triumph and Flying Cloud provided the team with a prestigious summer highlight when winning the Group Two Ribblesdale Stakes by four lengths.

Frankie Dettori, Godolphin’s retained rider since 1994, reaped the benefits of the team’s remarkable year as he ended 2009 with 103 winners in Britain, the 13th time he has notched a century of UK victories in a calendar year. His 745th, and most recent, success for Godolphin came on Passion For Gold in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud on November 14 and it was also the jockey’s 95th Group/Grade One win for the stable.

The number 13 appears to have been lucky for the operation in 2009 as that is also the number of Group/Grade Two triumphs that were notched globally, while Godolphin horses won 12 Grade/Group Three races and 19 Listed.

In securing its first double century of wins in a year, Godolphin horses landed a record 57 stakes races between them and continued to enhance the stable’s excellent reputation around the world.

There were plenty of landmarks for Godolphin during 2009, such as celebrating their 1,500th winner when Bab Al Salam won a handicap at Kempton Park, UK, on November 3, as well as enjoying their 150th Listed success when Baila Me took the EBF All-Weather 20th Anniversary River Eden Fillies' Stakes at Lingfield Park on October 29.

Godolphin gained a 100th Group/Grade Three triumph on August 15 when Kite Wood won the CGA Geoffrey Freer Stakes at Newbury, UK.

An unforgettable year.

Click here to view the 2009 Photo Gallery.

Click here to watch Godolphin International Success Video.

Godolphin's 2009 Worldwide Statistics