Proof that Derby form should never be underestimated, no matter where you are in the world, was emphatically provided on a day when Godolphin stables on three continents chalked up 13 winners in five countries.
Proof that Derby form should never be underestimated, no matter where you are in the world, was emphatically provided on a day when Godolphin stables on three continents chalked up 13 winners in five countries.
Saturday, 5th September 2015 will go into the annals of Godolphin history as numerically one of the most successful days ever enjoyed by the 'royal blues' since the stable's inception more than two decades ago.
Top of the winners list were Jack Hobbs, who landed the G3 September Stakes at Kempton in the UK as a stepping stone to the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, and Complacent, the long-shot winner of the G2 Chelmsford Stakes at Randwick in Sydney, who now has the Caulfield Cup as his Spring target.
Both horses figured prominently in Derbys in their respective countries. Jack Hobbs was runner-up to Golden Horn at Epsom in June before winning the Irish Derby at the Curragh, while Complacent was second to Polanski in the 2013 Victoria Derby at Flemington prior to being on the injured list.
Trainer John Gosden said he was happy to adopt an unconventional approach with Jack Hobbs by using a G3 race on the Polytrack as a prep for the Arc, even if it now leaves four weeks to the big race.
"I didn't want to go to Paris for the Prix Niel because those 'trials' can be stop-start races, with no pace. Olivier Peslier once said to me 'they should put the stalls at the top of the home straight,' in other words it would be a two-furlong sprint.
"Jack Hobbs has had a nice prep, and I liked the fact that he was fresh going to post, yet relaxed in the race. I'm happy. I didn't need an extra week before the Arc. It would have been better if this came a week later, but it's ok," he pointed out.
In Australia, Complacent was a big winner for Godolphin -- with Hartnell back in fourth -- in the Chelmsford Stakes. Trainer John O'Shea is happy to confine Complacent to the Caulfield Cup and to miss the Melbourne Cup this year.
"I do not want to overtax him this preparation as he was such a long time off through injury," O'Shea explained. "I would like to run him next in the Hill Stakes and the Craven Plate (in Sydney) before coming to Melbourne. He's got 53kg in the Caulfield Cup, and that's an inviting weight," he said.
O'Shea is adamant Hartnell wants to be covered up in his races, and he intends to give him a barrier trial before running next in the G1 Turnbull Stakes at Flemington on October 4. "Then it's the Cox Plate and the Melbourne Cup for him," he added.
O'Shea has reassessed Contributer's fifth in Saturday's Dato' Tan Chin Nam Stakes at Moonee Valley. "Overall, I think it was a nice start (to the campaign). It was a combination of a lot of things that saw him finish fifth.
"He got back on the inside and had to bullock his way out. But I was happy enough. Our aim is to have him peaking on October 24, for the Cox Plate. He will run next in the Underwood Stakes (Caulfield, September 26)," the trainer said.
The breakdown of Saturday's Godolphin winners into countries in which they won: UK 6, Australia 3, Turkey 2, America 1, Ireland 1.
To cap a truly memorable weekend, Godolphin's Toormore won the G2 Topkapi Trophy at Vaeliefendi, Turkey, on Sunday. The Arakan colt won a G2 at Goodwood but had gone to Istanbul off the back of a fifth in the Prix Jacques le Marois on very soft ground at Deauville.
On the same card, Connecticut, a son of the Darley stallion New Approach, won the G2 Bosphorus Cup, over a mile and a half, in the colours of Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum.
