Sheikh Mohammed's operation cutting bloodstock numbers

Godolphin's bloodstock operation is undergoing a large-scale worldwide "pruning", a senior official at Sheikh Mohammed's racing and breeding empire has admitted.

Yet despite the hugely increased number of Godolphin horses going through the ring, team members insisted there will be no significant reduction in the number put into training.

The downsizing has been the talk of the bloodstock industry in recent months but has not hitherto been acknowledged. The exercise began in Australia earlier this year, continued at the Tattersalls July Sale and has now reached the United States, where more than 60 yearlings are entered in the ongoing Keeneland September Sale.