Ferguson's mission remains work in progress

John Ferguson abandoned a successful career as a jumps trainer in the spring to answer a request from Sheikh Mohammed, to whom he had acted as bloodstock adviser, to deliver "a kick in the belly" to a racing operation that was not performing at the same level since it was launched.

Back in the nineties when Balanchine won the Oaks and Irish Derby and the likes of Halling, Swain, Daylami and Fantastic Light became brand leaders, Godolphin was an elite, lean and mean racing machine.

It expanded to swallow up all Sheikh Mohammed's racing stock and lately his bloodstock, to become a global enterprise of which since this year Ferguson has been chief executive.