The brilliant win of Contributer in Saturday's G1 Ranvet Stakes at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney was cause for double celebration at Team Godolphin over the weekend.
The brilliant win of Contributer in Saturday's G1 Ranvet Stakes at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney was cause for double celebration at Team Godolphin over the weekend.
For not only was the son of High Chaparral establishing himself as firm favourite for the G1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick on April 11, the 'royal blues' had also chalked up their fastest global century of winners in a calendar year since the stable's inception in 1992.
On March 19, at Wolverhampton, Serene Beauty, ridden by Shane Gray and trained by Charlie Appleby, notched the all-important victory needed to complete the stable's global 100 in record time.
Godolphin horses have been dominating on the all-weather tracks in Britain during the winter, as well as finding form at home gearing up for Saturday's Dubai World Cup at Meydan, and also winning with some regularity in Sydney and Melbourne during the Australian autumn. There has also been success in the United States.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed's global stable has reached the benchmark 100 winners a total of 13 times, the first being achieved in 1998, and every year since 2004, with one exception (2007).
"It is amazing to have chalked up the century nine days before the Dubai World Cup meeting," said John Ferguson, Bloodstock Advisor to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed. "And it is a great credit to everybody who has worked so hard for Godolphin to achieve those results. We are looking now for the second 'ton' though it will be harder with the concentration of top horses emerging for the season in Europe," he added.
Contributer continues to thrive in Australia, and with trainer John O'Shea now adamant that a gap of three weeks between runs is perfect for the English import, the timing could not be better for the horse's major objective, The Championships at Randwick in Sydney.
Also, James McDonald, Godolphin's latest signing, remains confident he has found the right way to ride the stable's new weight-for-age star. McDonald believes that holding on to Contributer and coming late with a strong run shows the horse in the best light.
The Japanese visitor Tosen Stardom battled on for a pleasing second, with classy mare Lucia Valentina running home nicely for third, that being her best run of the current campaign.
Ferguson was excited about Contributer's continued improvement but also spent much time in explaining to local reporters that the much-feared talent drain - taking the best horses from Australia to Dubai and Europe - was a non-event at Godolphin.
"It is much more likely that it will be the reverse strategy," he said. "We have worked very hard at establishing the global Godolphin brand in Australia, and we believe that in bringing the right horses down to be trained here, we are achieving that goal."
"Sheikh Mohammed loves racing in Australia, and he appreciates that love that Australians have for their horses. He spotted Contributer as a potential type for Australian conditions, and the horse is doing him proud," he added.
The four Godolphin runners were out of luck in the G1 Golden Slipper Stakes, failing to finish in the first three. The race was another triumph for Gai Waterhouse, who emulated her father, the legendary T J Smith, by saddling the winner for a sixth time.
The winner Vancouver, by Medaglia D'Oro, overcame a wide barrier to beat stablemate English by three-quarters of a length, with three-quarters of a length back to Lake Geneva in third.
