Private purchases lead the way as Godolphin fightback picks up pace

Everyone, it seems, has an opinion on Godolphin, and, to put it politely, those opinions are not universally favourable. But is all the criticism and consternation justified?

One area in particular that comes in for frequent criticism is Godolphin's buying strategy. John Ferguson was just about the biggest spender on the global sales scene for as long as anyone can remember. Each year he returned to the likes of Goffs, Keeneland and Tattersalls to part with huge sums, and when results on the racecourse did not seem to justify the astronomical spend in the ring it did not take long for questions to be asked.

Public auctions were not the only seam Godolphin and Ferguson mined in search of their next star, however, as they have frequently acquired horses in training privately, a policy that did not always bring the desired result, particularly when purchases were switched to their in-house trainers, as was the case with Derby runner-up Libertarian.

But, in mid-September last year, it was revealed that Godolphin were undergoing an extensive "pruning" exercise to reduce their global numbers, with vast quantities of their racing and breeding stock being sold off at auctions around the world.

If ever an exercise was needed to turn around the fortunes of Godolphin, it was this one.

But when it came to restocking during the 2016 round of yearling sales it appeared to be business as usual for then Godolphin chief executive Ferguson.

Buying yearlings comes with its share of risk, as even the best physical specimens with the most in vogue pedigrees do not come with a guarantee of being able to put one foot in front of the other. But an area where buyers do have a greater degree of control, something Godolphin looked in need of, is the horses in training market.

It is still very early days, but results from Royal Ascot suggest Ferguson may have exited stage left just as a more bold approach to buying form horses has begun to bear fruit.

Atty Persse goes clear of the field in the King George V StakesCredit: Cranhamphoto.com

Of course, the act of pruning is a two-part process. Not only are you removing any dead or overgrown branches, but you are doing so in the interests of encouraging growth, and from the moment the first royal procession of the week had come to a halt, this looked a leaner, meaner Godolphin machine.

If the operation is aiming to get back to the good old days, Ribchester, an authoritative winner of the Queen Anne Stakes, is exactly the kind of horse they need on their side. The son of Iffraaj has now won three top-flight events for Godolphin, including when pulverising the field in this year's Lockinge Stakes.

"This is Royal Ascot, win here and we're very happy," said Sheikh Mohammed, whose happiness must have been off the charts less than two hours later when Barney Roy gave the ruler of Dubai a second Group 1 of the week with a convincing victory in the St James's Palace Stakes.

Those results alone helped to better the operation's top-level tally in Britain and Ireland during the whole of 2016, when one of only two domestic Group 1 wins came in the Lockinge courtesy of Belardo.

Barney Roy strides clear of the opposition in the St James's Palace StakesCredit: Mark Cranham

The common denominator between Ribchester, Barney Roy and Belardo? All three were bought into by Godolphin privately and all remained with their existing handlers.

Other privately sourced royal runners who could yet add substance to Godolphin's resurgence include the Roger Charlton-trained Atty Persse, who again looked a Group winner in waiting when running away with the King George V Stakes on the Thursday, while the Clive Cox-trained pair Profitable and Harry Angel looked well up to winning Group 1 sprints this season having finished second in the King's Stand Stakes and Commonwealth Cup respectively.

It was easy to scoff at Godolphin's free spending on private purchases, particularly when it yielded underwhelming returns in the past. But credit where it’s due: Godolphin turned up at the biggest meeting of the year and more than held their own thanks in no small part to their private acquisitions.

Among these fresh green shoots could well be the foundations required to see the empire rebuilt to its former glory.

It is all too easy to judge Godolphin's spending against more conventional standards, but plainly there is nothing conventional about the wealth Sheikh Mohammed has at his disposal.

Godolphin’s resurgence through its horses-in-training purchases is good news for the owners of talented runners who come into the operation’s possession, especially when they have bought their charges for relatively little money. There could also be windfalls for the breeders at the yearling sales again in the coming months, if new Godolphin chief executive Joe Osborne maintains his predecessor’s hawkish hunt for talent at source.

But spare a thought for stallion masters outside the Godolphin camp. They must be tearing their hair out as the type of independently owned horses who did not used to be snapped up to run in the royal blue silks repeatedly escape their grasp.