Godolphin Are Back On Track
The Leger at Doncaster on the 12th September proved that Godolphin are back in the game, winning with a 1-2, much to the joy of horseracing fans – as one of them commented they are indeed great for horseracing. The Godolphin training operation was set up in 1994 by Sheikh Mohammed and the aim of the operation was to revolutionise the way in which Flat horses were trained, whilst Godolphin are not directly involved in Grand National style steeple chase racing, their influence on the whole British racing scene is immense. It is easy to see why the name Godolphin was chosen when you look at the history of horse racing: it is thought that the Thoroughbred developed in the late 17th or early 18th century when stallions from the Middle East and North Africa were imported to the UK and bred with British mares. In fact the bloodline of Thoroughbred horses can be traced back throughout countless generations - each of the 110,000 thoroughbred horse’s born in the world each year can have their ancestry traced back through the fathers line to one of either the Godolphin Arabian, the Byerley Turk or the Darley Arabian.
Over the decades Thoroughbreds have become ever larger, mature earlier, and are bred to cope with short distances at a very fast pace. This has occurred because originally the Thoroughbreds would have run in races of up to four miles, whereas now races tend to be a lot shorter – for example the St Leger and the Derby are only 1 mile 6 furlongs and 1 mile 4 furlongs respectively. Thoroughbreds are bred to have a lot of nervous energy so that are naturally inclined to be faster than other breeds, reaching speeds of up to 45 miles an hour! Some Thoroughbreds prove themselves so great that it is deemed scientifically necessary to try and find out what made them so impressive – Eclipse, a descendent of the Darley Arabian was dissected after his death, and it was determined that his heart pumped blood around his body more effectively, and his back legs gave lots of leverage. This twinned with his powerful lungs gave him the edge and his skeleton can still be seen at the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket.
The Godolphin operation is based in Dubai; with horses spending the winter there and then coming to England in the spring; as it is believed that the Middle Eastern climate benefits their training pattern. It is Sheikh Mohammed’s enthusiasm for worldwide racing which led to the formation of the World Series, and due to the size of Godolphin they have been able to set up their own private races in Dubai. As well as Sheikh Mohammed, his three brothers are also heavily involved in the operation – they all have their own breeding operations and run their own horses, but many are diverted into Godolphin colours.
All four have their own breeding operations and run horses in their own name but many are then diverted into the Godolphin colours. The Godolphin colour is Royal Blue. Sheikh Maktoum’s are royal blue, white chevron and light blue cap; Sheikh Hamdan’s are royal blue, white epaulets and striped cap; Sheikh Mohammed’s are maroon, white sleeves, maroon cap and white star, while Sheikh Ahmed’s colour is yellow with black epaulets. Why not check out pictures of the winners of the Leger from Saturday, and see what colours Mastery and Kite Wood they are wearing?
