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At least the no show from Godolphin in both Epsom Classics meant the toxic Sheikh Mohammed didn’t win anything.
Very good point. Amazing how his behaviour is glossed over. If newmarket didnt totally rely on him to survive i think he would be looked at very differently. As for coolmores purchasing power this is a fallacy. They are regulatly outbid at the sales ring but like mullins operation have the shrewdest team of buyers. Constitution river is through the haras du cadran stud. Other horses are bred through george bryants operations in the usa. Godolphin put themselves behind the 8 ball by refusing to buy coolmore stock for years which was as insane then as it is now. They will get more competetive im sure but for an operation as massive as them to not have a runner in the oaks or the derby is a monumental cock up. Yes coolmore got lucky with galileo but their purchase of wootton bassett showed john magnier knows his stuff. Maybe time to actually give ballydoyle their due. Its up to the others to step up as his son joseph is doing with connections totally seperate from coolmore though he does train at aiden and his wifes old yard. Folk forget anne marie was a top trainer before marrying aidan and aidan was banging in the winners before taking over coolmore. He will be around for a good few years yet and like mullins will be tough to beat.
I don’t have a problem with Aiden O’Brien he seems a great individual and the ITV spotlight on him during the Epsom coverage just reinforced this. Flat racing however can be likened to the corner shop trying to compete with the large supermarkets.
The more I know the less I understand.
True for the vast majority of trainers but the likes of the aga khan,juddmonte and godolphin should be doing better than they are. Also the slimming down of shadwell is a huge miss to racing. I do feel for the trainers like ger lyons in ireland who definetely is a corner shop competing with a supermarket. Guys like paddy tomwey are competing pretty well but the money is astronomical. Jump racing going that way with horses now costing up to a £1m running in handicaps. Only the rich can afford that im afraid. Racing a reflection of the wider world im afraid where the gap between top and bottom is increasing at an alarming rate.
Five of the seven runners from Coolmore have performed very poorly in the Epsom classics. Yes, they landed the big one again to highlight the continued failure of home trainers at this discipline. In some respects we are lucky to have Coolmore in that they imbue the trials at Chester,Lingfield and York with some interest and provide some anticipation for the big days even if the usual outcome is for us to yawn and say ‘oh them again’. They are at least helping to keep keep 12 furlongs and longer alive.
Overshadowing all of this is the stupid non runner decision. Parker should be clearing his desk and returning to Durban. Why does this country feel the need to recruit ‘expertise’ from overseas.
Agree the non runner decision is stupid. I don’t see how a horse that has participated and run the whole distance of the race can possibly deemed to be a non runner.
“Coolmore got lucky with Galileo but their purchase of Wootton Bassett showed John Magnier knows his stuff.”
True. That was undoubtedly a very shrewd decision. I don’t think many people had Wootton Bassett marked down as a superstar. Although I suppose Coolmore needed a suitable sire for all those Galileo mares. I expect they are depending on Delacroix stepping up to the mark in future.
“The likes of the Aga Khan,Juddmonte and Godolphin should be doing better than they are.”
Agree about Godolphin but as stated above, I am sort of glad they are not.
As for the Aga Khan and Juddmonte, my understanding is most of their horses are home breds with only the occasional foray into the auction houses. Are they spending the same sort of money as Coolmore and Godolphin?
You can respect OBrien but you can’t love him , the whole setup while very successful is cold , well to me anyway , Moore on the wrong horse again , listen he’s a brilliant jockey but Piggott , Eddery etc rarely got on the wrong one’s , how many big wins has Moore missed
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
Didn’t John Magnier start off looking at the pedigrees of cattle and then decided to apply it to horses ( bit like Dream Alliances breeder starting off with pigeons and then applying it to horses)? Thinking about Aidan O’Briens achievement in winning the Derby yet again did make me ponder on how many trainers have been able to enter so many horses in the classics over the years. I can’t dislike Aidan though. We went to the Arc one year and he and Joseph spent so much time chatting to people and signing autographs that I really warmed to him albeit there being certain aspects of the operation that I don’t like.
”The same Irish based connections winning the race for the fourth year in a row (and the seventh time in the last decade) is simply not very exciting.”
This isn’t an Epsom Derby issue.
The same connections have won :
3 of the last 6 French Derby’s including a 1-2-3 this season.
5 of the last 7 Irish Derby’s
4 of the last 7 Epsom Oaks
3 of the last 5 Irish OaksThey’ve won 6 out of 9 classics in the 3 main countries this year and they’re not finished yet. Diamond Necklace is pretty much a good thing in the French Oaks and it’s likely they’ll win the Irish Derby again.
Coolmore has just become an unstoppable force. Whoever the brain behind the breeding operation is, that’s the real genius.
Vincent O’Brien was certainly a genius and maybe Magnier is also.Aidan hasn’t a clue who the best horse is half the time now such is the amount of good ones coming through. I still think he should know who to put Moore on more often than he does though. I’d be fuming if I was Moore to be honest.
I still love the Epsom Derby. It’s easily my favourite flat race.
The track probably doesn’t hold as much weight regards bloodlines now with all the ups and downs and camber etc but it makes for a great spectacle on tv (Like Cheltenham) and for me, the Derby wouldn’t be half as special if run at a track like Ascot.
I agree I generally find the flat mundane but The Derby is a highlight.
The more I know the less I understand.
Re Godolphin comments , Even if the BHA wanted to somehow bar Godolphin for whatever reasons and commit financial suicide for large parts of Newmarket I think the UK govenment would step right in real quick and stop that . The amount of trade between Dubai and UK ,defence arrangements etc they would have no choice as they wont risk upsetting that .
I refuse to call the Prix de Jockey Club the ‘French Derby’ anymore since the distance was reduced.
Piccolo Anshan and Electric in the bottom line of Christmas Day’s pedigree is unexpected for a Derby winner
The French Derby is just a name given to the race officially it is the Prix Du Jockey Club.
The more I know the less I understand.
“Piccolo Anshan and Electric in the bottom line of Christmas Day’s pedigree is unexpected for a Derby winner”
Agree with the first two, but Electric was a very smart middle-distance performer (Timeform 126 at three and 123 at four), who landed the Gordon Stakes, Great Voltigeur and Jockey Club Stakes, touching off Time Charter, no less, in the last-named. His career was blighted by recurring muscular problems, sadly, but he was clearly a very talented colt.
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