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| Staff Writer |
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389 Group Ones 7,812 winners have seen Godolphin earn a whole new level of reputation and recognition.
The blue silks are known around the world as a symbol of dominance and triumph on horseback.
named in honour of the Godolphin Arabian, who came from the desert to pave an entire bloodline as one of the three founding stallions of the modern thoroughbred.
The great Saeed bin Suroor is the face at the helm of the global powerhouse as a head trainer with a career that has spanned close to three decades.
There are few trainers that will ever measure up to what bin Suroor has achieved in racing—he is the pinnacle of an entirely different echelon of talent.
Born and raised in Dubai and growing up around horses, he began training while still part of the Dubai Police Force.
He would go on to get his training licence in 1993, and a year later he was appointed to a training role for Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin, the most internationally recognised and successful racing team.
His Highness originally sent him thirty horses in 1992, and his talent with and around horses shone through in being recognised with the offer of this role.
In his first season in the role, he led Lammtarra to victories in the Derby, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes, and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Adding to the success of the son of Nijinsky, bin Suroor also had success that same year in the Oaks with Moonshell and in the St. Leger with Classic Cliché.
As the longest-serving trainer for the international racing powerhouse Godolphin bin Suroor, he has seen it all, preparing winners and champions across the globe. Throughout his career, he has been given the opportunity to train some high-quality horses for HH Sheikh Mohammed, for which he is grateful yet humble.
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Leading this team, they have conquered across the globe with major wins and achievements that include five-time Ascot Gold Cups, five-time St. Leger wins, two Caulfield Cups, three Prix de l'Arc de Triomphes, two Breeders’ Cup Turf wins, and a Hong Kong Mile winner.
The stable has had winners in 14 countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Qatar, Singapore, Turkey, the UAE, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
In his native Dubai, the master trainer has taken victories in 16 feature races, including a massive nine Dubai World Cups, even going back-to-back with the same runner in the Helmet-Eastern Joy colt Thunder Snow (2018, 2019), becoming the first horse to ever win the event two years in a row.
He trained his 200th Dubai World Cup Carnival winner when the aptly named Very Special won the G2 Cape Verde on January 26, 2017.
Thunder Snow also reigned victorious in the UAE 2000 Guineas (2017), UAE Derby (2017), and the Al Maktoum Challenge (2018) in the lead-up to the DWC double.
Bin Suroor understands that some of these equine champions have even changed the sport and bloodstock worlds in their own right.
"Dubai Millennium won many Group 1 races for us, and of course he sired Dubawi, who was another exceptional horse. What he did on the racetrack and what he has done for the bloodstock world is very special."
The colt Dubai Millennium is remembered for winning a string of major races between 1999 and 2000, which included the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (1999), the Al Maktoum Challenge, Round 3 (2000), and the Dubai World Cup (2000).
Dubawi was one of only a few horses sired by Dubai Millennium out of Zomaradah and proved himself as a star of the track in his own right, winning the Irish 2,000 Guineas and Prix Jacques Le Marois in 2005 before going to stud. He has since sired many winners of major races, most notably Al Kazeem, Postponed, and Modern Games.
This year, bin Suroor was once again rewarded for his hard work and mastery training when the winner and the second-place runner of the Bahrain International Trophy, Passion and Glory and Passion and Glory, flew the flag for Godolphin.
It was an achievement that had eluded bin Suroor since the race began four years ago.
"It was amazing to finally win the Bahrain Trophy after trying for a few years and to have the runner-up as well as a fantastic bonus," bin Suroor said.
"Dubai Future and Passion and Glory obviously both put in exceptional performances."
"For Dubai Future, it was his first win in a group race; we knew he had it in him, and he showed what he is capable of in Bahrain." He has now travelled to Dubai, where we will run him at the carnival and hopefully see him back in the winner’s enclosure.
"Passion and Glory is another horse with a lot of ability; although he is less consistent than Dubai Future, as he showed in the Bahrain International Trophy, he is a group-level horse in the right conditions."
"Dubai Future had run in this race last year and wasn’t suited by the way it was run; we knew he could do better, so we came back for another try." "Passion and Glory is a horse that goes well on good ground, and he also had the quality to do himself justice, which is why we decided to run them here."
Training from his home base of Al Quoz Stables in Dubai during the season, his stable continues to house some stars, and bin Suroor noted some types to watch for throughout the Dubai Carnival.
"We have some very good horses that we are looking forward to running at the Dubai Carnival this year."
"Mawj is our star 2YO. She won a Gr.2 at Newmarket this summer, so it will be exciting to see her run in the Dubai Carnival."
"Desert Fire, who won Gr.2 over Al Rashidiya, is also in Dubai and another exciting prospect."
"We hope to have another good season."
Last season saw bin Suroor have nine winners and $4.4 million in race earnings as he further strengthened his reputation as the most successful trainer in the history of the Dubai World Cup Carnival.
For what has been achieved in the past and as long as Saeed bin Suroor is at the helm as head trainer for this global powerhouse, every time the sun sets over the racetracks of the world, the blue flag of Godolphin will continue to fly, representing dominance and clinical success.