Saturday, September 8, 2001
THE GODOLPHIN PLAN WORKS
SHEIKH MOHAMMED and his brother Sheikh Maktoum’s change of plan played a big part in bringing about the first defeat of mighty Galileo with their five-year-old Fantastic Light in the Ireland The Food Island Irish Champion Stakes.
“Sheikh Maktoum and I decided on Friday night to let Fantastic Light to run his own race and to lead Galileo and not to save him for a late burst of speed,” said Sheikh Mohammed. “We were not going to sit behind Galileo.”
When asked if that was the plan Sheikh Mohammed smiled: “The plan was to reach for the sky for a star and today we have found it in Fantastic Light.”
He went on: “I think Galileo is a great horse but Fantastic Light got his distance today. We knew he would be better than he was at Ascot over this distance. Sheikh Maktoum has always said that he believed Fantastic Light would find a mile and a quarter his best distance.
“Now the plan is to take Fantastic Light to America for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. We will go there if we are happy with him.”
Asked if he thought Fantastic Light would take in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on his way to America, Sheikh Mohammed said: “I think we will go straight to the Breeders’ Cup Classic.” But he refused to completely rule out the Arc.
Simon Crisford, racing manager to Godolphin in whose colours Fantastic Light runs, said: “Fantastic Light and Galileo are two giants. The plan was down to Sheikh Maktoum who basically said to Frankie (Dettori) ‘don’t sit behind Galileo’.”
Dettori himself was bowled over when he heard the change of tactics. “I had thought of trying to do Galileo for speed at the death and I was bowled over when I heard how the plan had changed. It all worked out so well.
“These are two great horses and it is always a shame that one has to be beaten.”
Sue Magnier, part-owner of Galileo, was among the first to congratulate Sheikh Mohammed. “John (Magnier) is in America but he has been on the phone and told me to pass on his congratulations. Well done, to you and your team.”
FRANKIE DETTORI ECSTATIC
Frankie Dettori did his flying dismount after winning the Ireland The Food Island Irish Champion Stakes by a head from Galileo to enormous cheers. He hugged Sheikh Maktoum Al Maktoum.
“When Sheikh Maktoum and Sheikh Mohammed came out yesterday with the planning instructions (for the race) I fell over backwards and I didn’t sleep all night but they were absolutely right (to want to go on in the straight).
“Why do we have to follow Galileo when we knew our horse is a good horse and he stays a mile a quarter well and has a 5lb pull from the King George.
“There have been a few fights before and he knows how to fight. I think everybody was very harsh about him in the King George where the horse was just tired.”
The tactic of the Godolphin pacemaker Give The Slip, ridden by Richard Hills, letting Fantastic Light up the inside on the turn into the straight was decided yesterday as well, forcing Galileo to go three wide.
Dettori added: “That was Sheikh Maktoum and Sheikh Mohammed’s thinking last night and I didn’t totally agree with it but it worked.
“They came out with this great idea. Like everybody else I was picturing myself behind Galileo and using my turn of foot to beat him but like the boss and Sheikh Maktoum pointed out Fantastic Light had a 5lb pull, a mile and a quarter seems to be his best trip and lets go out there and make a fight of it.
“We know our fellow has fought with all the best horses in the world and so the idea was to take it from Galileo and see what he has got. At the end of the day the old fellow came out on top.
“This is a huge success. Galileo has been called one of the best three-year-olds in the last 30 years. To have a horse who beats him, giving him 7lb, you have got to say that Fantastic Light has not stopped surprising us. You have got to give him full credit. Wherever he goes in the world he is always up there showing his best and once again he knuckled down and fought right to the line.
“If I have another fight like that I will faint. To see two great horses fighting it out was absolutely unbelievable, I don’t think it can get any better than this.“
Sue Magnier, joint owner of Galileo, came over to congratulate Sheikh Mohammed afterwards, while Clare Balding, the BBC Grandstand presenter, said it was the best race she had watched.
GODOLPHIN TACTICS
BEAT GALILEO
Dual Derby winner Galileo lost his unbeaten record in a brilliant finish to the Group 1 Ireland The Food Island Irish Champion Stakes when going down by a head to Fantastic Light.
Galileo’s pacemaker Ice Dancer went out in front but the winner’s stablemate Give The Slip, who was expected to join the leader, dropped in further back, still well clear of the remainder.
Aidan O’Brien, Galileo’s trainer, said: “The winner did it very well, the lads planned it brilliantly tactically. We didn’t get it right, I didn’t read it probably because I thought Give The Slip would go after Ice Dancer but he didn’t follow so I probably messed up tactically.
“It was confusing and a difficult race to ride, we probably should have had the horse handier. It was really two races.
“It’s great for everybody when these horses compete and it was a great race to watch - but there you go. Horses have their good days and bad days, we all do, and you can’t win them all.
“You always hope that you will get there and they were together for most of the straight, it was nip and tuck. I think he travelled very well, if anything too easily.”
Asked about future targets, O’Brien said: “I think that when the lads come back (from Keeneland) we’ll decide whether to go for the Queen Elizabeth II or the Breeders’ Cup Classic, but I wouldn’t see any reason why he wouldn’t go to America
“If we are going to give him a fair chance in America it would be hard to run him in both races. He is only a three-year-old and still a baby so we can’t go to the well too often.”
RECORD IRISH CHAMPION DAY CROWD AT LEOPARDSTOWN
Today’s crowd of 16,987 is a new record for Irish Champion Day at Leopardstown.
It easily exceeds last year’s record of just over 13,000.
JOINT EMIRATES LEADERS
Fantastic Light and Galileo now jointly lead the Emirates World Series with 18 points after this fifth leg of the 12-race series.
RECORD LEOPARDSTOWN TOTE TURNOVER
Today’s on-course Tote turnover of Ir£475,144.91, a huge increase on the Ir£355,215 bet at this fixture 12 months ago, is a record for Leopardstown.
Bookmakers’ turnover was Ir£1,589,241 compared with Ir£917,683 last year, an increase of Ir£671,558.
BURKE DELIGHTED
Leopardstown’s racing manager Tom Burke was delighted with the day.
“It has been a tremendous day with in excess of 17,000 people here,” said Burke. “There was a fantastic atmosphere through the whole day and it was one of the best races ever seen at Leopardstown or anywhere in the world.
“We have seen two of the best horses that one would hope to see in a lifetime of racing.
“Being part of the Emirates World Racing Series has raised the profile of the race and Irish racing and Leopardstown is very proud to be part of it.”
FRANKIE DETTORI CAUTIONED
The Leopardstown stewards severely cautioned Frankie Dettori for his excessive use of the whip on Fantastic Light.
UPDATED FANTASTIC LIGHT (USA) FACTFILE
5 b h Rahy (USA) - Jood (Nijinsky (CAN))
Form: 113/1423110/125214531-21121 Owner: Godolphin
Trainer: Saeed bin Suroor Breeder: Gainsborough Farm Inc Jockey: Frankie Dettori
Fantastic Light
Maktoum Al Maktoum’s home-bred son of Rahy won two of his three races when trained by Sir Michael Stoute as a juvenile, making a winning debut in a maiden at Sandown, before returning to the Esher track to take a conditions event. He then finished third in a Listed contest at Goodwood behind Mutaahab to conclude his two-year-old career. On his three-year-old debut, Fantastic Light gained his first Pattern victory, taking the Group 3 Thresher Classic Trial at Sandown. Later that season he finished second to Lear Spear in the then Group 2 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot beaten a head, before winning the Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes at York. The 2000 season began well with a triumph in the Group 3 Dubai Sheema Classic at Nad Al Sheba and he then left Stoute’s stable for Godolphin. On his first start for the Maktoum family’s operation, he finished second to Daliapour in the Group 1 Vodafone Coronation Cup, was then fifth to Giant’s Causeway in the Coral Eurobet Eclipse Stakes and runner-up to Montjeu in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot. A triumph in the Grade 1 Man O’War Stakes at Belmont followed and after a fourth in another Belmont Grade 1 and fifth to Kalanisi in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, he finished third in the Japan Cup. His globe-trotting season was rounded off by a length and three quarters success from Greek Dance in the Group 1 Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin in December. That success, combined with earlier placed efforts, ensured that he was Emirates World Racing Series Champion of 2000. He was beaten a nose on his comeback in the Group 2 Dubai Sheema Classic at Nad Al Sheba in March and then landed the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup by a neck from Golden Snake on May 27 at the Curragh and put in an outstanding effort to win the Group 1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot by two and a half lengths from Kalanisi. On his last start he finished runner-up in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot for the second year running, this time beaten two lengths by dual Derby winner Galileo, who was receiving a weight-for-age allowance of 12lb. Today he reversed the placings.
Race Record: Starts: 24; 1st: 11; 2nd: 5; 3rd: 3; Win & Place Prize Money: £3,104,686 (sterling) plus IR£476,750
Godolphin
Godolphin is the racing entity of Sheikh Mohammed and other members of the Maktoum family, and its aim is to prepare horses in Dubai during the winter to gain the advantage when challenging for major races worldwide. The experiment began on a small scale in the winter of 1992, with horses enjoying the benefits of the warm climate before arriving in Britain for the 1993 season. The Godolphin operation was properly established in 1994, with Hilal Ibrahim as trainer, when Balanchine won the Vodafone Oaks and Irish Derby. The following year Saeed bin Suroor was appointed as the official trainer. When flown over from Dubai, the horses are stabled at Moulton Paddocks in Newmarket, and, in 1999 and 2000, Godolphin s two-year-olds were housed at the former Evry racecourse in France under the care of David Loder, who has now relocated to Godolphin Stables in Newmarket. In 2000, Godolphin set up an additional training centre at Santa Anita racecourse in the United States, where Eoin Harty supervises a select band of American-bred two-year-olds. Godolphin s colours have been carried to victory in every British classic bar the Vodafone Derby, although Saeed bin Suroor did train Lammtarra to win the premier classic for Saeed Maktoum Al Maktoum in 1995. The British Godolphin classic successes so far have been Sagitta 2000 Guineas (1996 Mark Of Esteem, 1999 Island Sands), Sagitta 1000 Guineas (1998 Cape Verdi), Vodafone Oaks (1994 Balanchine, 1995 Moonshell) and St Leger (1995 Classic Cliche, 1998 Nedawi, 1999 Mutafaweq). Daylami led an historic 1-2-3 in the 1998 Coral Eurobet Eclipse Stakes, the first time that the same owner and trainer has had the first three in a British Group 1, and the Godolphin ambitions, other than landing the Vodafone Derby, include taking the American Triple Crown series, winning the Japan Cup, Melbourne Cup and capturing the Emirates World Racing Series Championship which was achieved in 1999, the inaugural year, by Daylami, and in 2000 by Fantastic Light. Godolphin’s tally of 72 Group/Grade 1 wins includes the Dubai World Cup (1999 Almutawakel, 2000 Dubai Millennium), Irish 2,000 Guineas (2000 Bachir), French 2,000 Guineas (2000 Bachir), Irish Derby (1994 Balanchine), Breeders Cup Turf (1999 Daylami), King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes (1997 & 1998 Swain, 1999 Daylami), Ireland The Food Island Irish Champion Stakes (1994 Cezanne, 1998 Swain, 1999 Daylami and Fantastic Light), Irish St Leger (1998, 1999 Kayf Tara) and three successes in the Coral Eurobet Eclipse Stakes. Godolphin has been leading British owner in 1996, 1998 and 1999.
Ireland The Food Island Irish Champion Stakes Wins: 1994 CEZANNE, 1998 SWAIN, 1999 DAYLAMI and 2001FANTASTIC LIGHT
Saeed bin Suroor
Godolphin s principal trainer, former policeman Saeed bin Suroor, was born in Dubai on October 10, 1967. He has been champion British trainer three times - in 1996, 1998 and 1999 - but a low-key season for Godolphin in 2000 saw him finish only seventh in the table. Coupled with his phenomenal achievements with Godolphin, bin Suroor trained the redoubtable Lammtarra for Sheikh Mohammed s nephew, Saeed Maktoum Al Maktoum, to win the 1995 Vodafone Derby, Ascot s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes and Prix de l Arc de Triomphe. That the horse raced only four times in his career and yet was trained by bin Suroor to succeed in those three pre-eminent Group One events is an achievement which cannot be overstated. Bin Suroor is helped with the training by Tom Albertrani, formerly assistant to Cigar s handler Bill Mott in America, with Simon Crisford acting as racing manager. Cape Verdi s Sagitta 1000 Guineas win completed the full set of British classics for bin Suroor in 1998. His domestic classic winners are Sagitta 1000 Guineas (1998 Cape Verdi), Sagitta 2000 Guineas (1996 Mark Of Esteem, 1999 Island Sands), Vodafone Derby (1995 Lammtarra), Vodafone Oaks (1995 Moonshell), St Leger (1995 Classic Cliche, 1998 Nedawi, 1999 Mutafaweq). Godolphin has enjoyed numerous other big-race wins worldwide and took the Prince of Wales’s Stakes in June with Fantastic Light who today captured the Ireland The Food Island Irish Champion Stakes.. Ireland The Food Island Irish Champion Stakes Wins: 1998 SWAIN, 1999 DAYLAMI and 2001FANTASTIC LIGHT
Frankie Dettori
Born in Milan on December 15, 1970, the son of Gianfranco, a former champion jockey in Italy, Frankie Dettori arrived from his homeland to join Luca Cumani s Newmarket yard as an apprentice in July, 1985, and rode his first winner on Lizzie Hare at Goodwood on June 9, 1987. Has since captured the hearts of racegoers with his flamboyant style, phenomenal riding successes, and charisma in and out of the saddle. Champion jockey in 1994 and 1995, Dettori created history when riding all seven winners on the first day card at the Ascot Festival in September 1996. His ground-breaking exertions brought recognition beyond that of racing s own sphere when he was voted into third place in the 1996 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards. While victory in the Vodafone Derby still eludes Dettori, Cape Verdi s win in the 1998 Sagitta 1000 Guineas means that he has tasted success in all four other domestic classics at least once, as well as a host of high-profile international successes, including the 1995 Arc on Lammtarra, the 1996 Japan Cup on Singspiel, the 1999 Breeders Cup Turf on Daylami and last year s Dubai World Cup on Dubai Millennium. Dettori, who is retained by the Godolphin team, survived an horrific plane crash at Newmarket last summer in which the pilot was killed and missed part of the season as a result. Dettori has a great record in the Ireland The Food Island Irish Champion Stakes, having won the race three times now. He is married to Catherine with two young children.
Ireland The Food Island Irish Champion Stakes Wins: 1998 SWAIN, 1999 DAYLAMI and 2001 FANTASTIC LIGHT
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