Godolphin team primed for early start to the Flat campaign

The royal blue procession is back in Newmarket this morning as Godolphin's expensively assembled stable resumes work on the gallops, charged with restoring lustre to the creation of Sheikh Mohammed. His brother, Sheikh Hamdan al-Maktoum, is meanwhile monitoring events in America and France, where two of his classic contenders are set for critical runs.
Questioning the policies and productivity of Godolphin is almost an annual rite of spring but those involved will expect no different this year. Saeed bin Suroor, who has trained the oscillating team since its inception 15 years ago, dipped to ninth in the championship last season, his lowest placing since 2003.
Once more, there were no classics to celebrate and only one group one victory in Europe. The defence, as ever, is that Godolphin races worldwide, and enjoyed greater successes elsewhere, but the home base for the northern hemisphere summer is Britain and that is where many will continue to judge them.
Central to the ongoing debate is Godolphin's routine of taking many of their horses to Dubai for the winter, and the effect such changes of climate have upon them. An earlier return date has been forced upon them this year, the building of the new Meydan racecourse compromising their facilities, and they plan to have rare runners at the Craven meeting which opens Newmarket's season next week.
Simon Crisford, racing manager to Godolphin and himself just back from Dubai, said yesterday: “April has historically been the only month when we've had no runners, so this will be interesting. Our plan at this stage is to run Liberation, City Style and Hatta Fort at the meeting.”
Crisford rejects the argument that shipping horses back from Dubai has contributed to Godolphin's recent slow starts. “Coming back earlier might prove to be a good thing but I'd never considered the previous way was bad. We won nine Guineas within a month of coming off the plane, which must say something. Horses don't mind coming from hot climates to cold - it's the other way that can affect some of them.”
A second batch of 35 horses arrived from Dubai yesterday and Crisford expects the Newmarket strength to be around 175 this year. He pinpoints Shaweel as their likeliest candidate for the 2,000 Guineas and reports that Kite Wood, a heady purchase out of the Michael Jarvis yard, is on target to reappear in the Dante Stakes at York.
“He stayed behind through the winter,” he explained. “I saw him yesterday and he's certainly a fine, strong horse. He'll be trained for the Dante, and hopefully then the Derby, but he wasn't bought specifically for that project and we have longer-term ambitions for him.”
The short term is paramount for Mafaaz and Naaqoos, who will represent Sheikh Hamdan in Keeneland and Paris respectively this weekend. Naaqoos, trained by Freddie Head and 6-1 for the 2,000 Guineas after a fine juvenile season, returns in the Prix Djebel at Maisons-Laffitte on Friday, while Mafaaz is already in America to contest the grade one Blue Grass Stakes on Saturday.
This race was identified by John Gosden, his trainer, as preparation for the Kentucky Derby berth he earned at Kempton last month. Richard Hills will travel to Keeneland for the mount.
Source:the times