Coolmore versus Godolphin. Fifteen, or even 10, seasons ago, it was racing’s clásico, played out in Group Ones across the globe. The intensity may have faded in recent years as Godolphin struggled to compete with the Coolmore machine, but at Epsom this Classic weekend, the rivalry is renewed.
Both sides send colts with obvious chances to the Derby on Saturday, but it is Friday’s Oaks that places the old head-to-head centre stage. Minding, a Classic winner already this year for Aidan O’Brien, takes on Godolphin’s Skiffle, who did not see a racecourse until 6 May, five days after Minding’s success in the 1,000 Guineas. Less than a month later, Skiffle has the chance to land an important blow on one of O’Brien’s stable stars.
It is a match-up that seemed to have been written off after Skiffle’s success in the Height Of Fashion Stakes at Goodwood last month, just 13 days after her debut. John Ferguson, Godolphin’s chief executive, made it clear that the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot would be her next race. Instead, Skiffle has the chance to be Godolphin’s first British Classic winner since Dawn Approach in the 2,000 Guineas in 2013.
“I was adamant [that she would go to Ascot] because I genuinely was thinking that it was the second race of her life, she’s won a Listed race and is she ready for an Oaks?” Ferguson said on Thursday.
“Two things happened. One was the fact that Minding had quite a hard race to be beaten in Ireland, and her running style made it appear that she was a fast, fast filly. The other aspect was how well Skiffle did straight after Goodwood. She lost no weight there and she’s come back bouncing.
“The great thing about Dubawis is how they come out of races and how tough they are. From that aspect, I shouldn’t have been surprised, but she looks and is acting like she is ready to go again, so we’ll give her the chance. Dubawis also love soft ground, and Princesse Dansante, Skiffle’s mother, had good form on soft ground, it’s a really good, solid French family.” Success for Skiffle would not only break a three-year losing streak for Godolphin in British Classics. She would also be the operation’s first Classic winner from one of its Newmarket yards since Encke’s success in the St Leger in 2012.
Just seven months later, Godolphin was dragged to its lowest point in more than two decades on the turf when Mahmood al-Zarooni, Encke’s trainer, was found to have doped 22 of his horses with anabolic steroids. Zarooni was banned for eight years and Charlie Appleby, his former assistant, took over the licence at his yard. Appleby has already saddled several Group One winners, but a first Classic would emphasise the extent to which Godolphin has recovered from its nadir in the spring of 2013.
“It’s not the same stable, that’s the first thing I’d say,” Ferguson says, referring to a huge investment programme at Moulton Paddocks, a mile outside Newmarket, which has turned it into one of the finest training complexes in the business. “And when Encke won the St Leger, [Zarooni] hadn’t done anything wrong at that stage and he won the Leger fair and square, so that’s another story.
“What’s important is that everyone within Godolphin is performing well. Saeed [bin Suroor]’s team is going well, Charlie is flying, André [Fabre] is going great, as is John Gosden and everyone else. I’m excited about the Derby as well. Both horses [Cloth Of Stars and Moonlight Magic] have been proved against the best company and they are both horses trained by masters [in Fabre and Jim Bolger respectively].
“The lovely thing about them is that half of the people I talk to think that Cloth Of Stars has the better chance and half of them think that Moonlight Magic has got the better chance, and nobody knows.”
Aidan O’Brien has five of the 16 declared runners in Saturday’s Derby, a race he has won three times in the last four seasons and five times in all. He has also won the Oaks three times since Kazzia gave Godolphin their last success in the Epsom fillies’ Classic in 2002.
“I know that everyone likes to bring out the two teams, but to me it’s more than that,” Ferguson says. “There are plenty of top teams out there and you almost do them an injustice by not involving them.
“If you put the season in the context of a football match, the first 10 minutes have gone well for us, but there is still a very long way to go. If we do hit the target this year, great. If not, at least we’re performing on the highest stage. We want to be focused on the big races all over the world. Epsom is very important, but so is the whole global landscape.”
