'Nothing anti-Sir Michael' - Stoute among trainers to lose Shadwell horses

The extent of the restructuring of Shadwell undertaken by the family of the late Hamdan Al Maktoum has been brought into focus as racing manager Angus Gold revealed a list of trainers who no longer have horses for the team in Europe, including Sir Michael Stoute.

Speaking in the wake of Morghom's win at Newbury on Saturday, Gold pointed out the promising son of Dubawi had been with Sir Michael Stoute as an unraced two-year-old, but is now trained by Marcus Tregoning.

Gold said the decision to no longer have horses with Stoute – a ten-time champion trainer – had been a difficult one made in keeping with a desire to see Shadwell as a leaner operation, and reported Mark and Charlie Johnston, Ed Dunlop, Brian Meehan, Dermot Weld and Freddy Head were also no longer on the rota.

"We were cutting down on some horses and decided to cut down on some trainers," said Gold.

Mustashry: won the 2019 Lockinge Stakes for Stoute and ShadwellCredit: Edward Whitaker

"Sir Michael now has no horses for us, sadly. With all the sales and cutbacks we had to make some changes. It was a hard decision to move Morghom, but he was an unraced two-year-old who hadn't shown a huge amount.

"He'd done a few half-speeds and looked potentially a nice horse, but we got no further than that.

Shadwell to sell 'substantial' number of horses as part of restructuring

"Then we decided to cut down. William Haggas, John and Thady Gosden and Roger Varian have horses for us in Newmarket and then there's Charlie Hills, Owen Burrows, Richard Hannon and Marcus Tregoning, Jean-Claude Rouget and Francois Rohaut in France, and Kevin Prendergast in Ireland.

"We've none with Brian Meehan, Mark Johnston, Ed Dunlop and Freddy Head now, but that's what the family decided when they cut down the numbers."

2019 Lockinge hero Mustashry was Stoute's biggest winner for Shadwell, while Maraahel twice won the Hardwicke at Royal Ascot in addition to a hat-trick of successes in Chester's Huxley Stakes.

Morghom was moved by Shadwell from Sir Michael Stoute to Marcus Tregoning and got off the mark at Newbury on SaturdayCredit: Edward Whitaker

Gold said: "There was nothing anti-Sir Michael. We were getting rid of all the other horses we had with him bar one, who's gone to Richard Hannon, and we kept Morghom because he was a homebred Dubawi and [in case] he turned out to be any good.

"It was nothing anti-Sir Michael, goodness. We've been with him a long time and it's sad not to have horses with him anymore. Sir Michael's been there before and it's very sad, but it's nothing against him at all. When it was decided to have fewer horses we had to make some changes."

Discussing Morghom's future, Gold went on: "I loved the way he travelled and I loved the way he quickened. He's just been a bit cheeky at home and Jim said he went up a few times in the stalls.

"I don't want to say yay or nay, but I'd hate to drop him in at the deep end and he gets too buzzed up and we lose him."

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