The Godolphin operation’s hope that it would hit the ground running in the 2016 Flat season suffered an early setback on Thursday when Emotionless, the second-favourite for the 2,000 Guineas, was ruled out of the Classic barely a week after a racecourse gallop at Newmarket that had appeared to confirm his wellbeing.
Charlie Appleby, Emotionless’s trainer, told Godolphin’s website on Thursday morning that while the colt is sound and well, he will bypass the 2,000 Guineas on 30 April to give him more time to mature.
“The horse has done nothing wrong in his work,” Appleby said, “but I feel he is still maturing and will be a better horse with more time. He is an incredibly exciting horse to train but he is a horse for the second half of the season and he has a real future as a four- and five-year-old when he is fully developed.
“The decision not to run is a difficult one but it is in the best interests of the horse and that is all that matters.”
Emotionless looked exceptional in last year’s Champagne Stakes at Doncaster, when he beat Ibn Malik, who took the Free Handicap at Newmarket last week, by three-and-a-half lengths without coming under pressure. He then set off as the 7-4 second-favourite for the Group One Dewhurst Stakes behind Air Force Blue, the eventual winner, but was eased down inside the final quarter-mile to finish last of seven and was found to have chipped a bone in his knee.
Emotionless did not extend away from two galloping companions when he exercised before racing at Newmarket last Wednesday but still appeared to have done enough to earn a place in the Guineas. He was also seen as a key horse for Godolphin in the early months of the season as Sheikh Mohammed’s immense bloodstock operation tries to re-establish its position among Flat racing’s global elite.
Godolphin was the dominant force in European racing in the late 1990s and early 2000s but in recent seasons it has struggled to compete with Aidan O’Brien’s Ballydoyle stable in Ireland, where the trainer prepares horses for the Coolmore Stud syndicate headed by Ballydoyle’s owner, John Magnier.
The al-Thani family from Qatar has also invested heavily in European bloodstock in recent seasons, prompting Sheikh Mohammed, Godolphin’s founder, to respond with a string of big-money buys at the major European yearling sales in 2014 and 2015. Godolphin was also restructured last year to include the Darley Stud breeding operation, with John Ferguson, the sheikh’s bloodstock adviser for 30 years, installed as its overall chief executive.
A desire for quick results could have pushed Godolphin towards running Emotionless at Newmarket on 30 April, but Jim Clarke, its media manager, said on Thursday the possible effect on the colt’s long-term career was the primary concern.
“They had a discussion and decided they don’t want to put him under that kind of pressure at the moment and they just want to look after him for later in the season,” Clarke said. “It might have come around a bit quick for him and it’s not easy to go into a Guineas like that. They just wanted to give him every opportunity to perform later in the season.
“At the end of the day, we’re definitely putting what’s in the best interests of the horse long-term at the front of everyone’s minds. They’re definitely very pleased with where he’s at, looking towards the end of the season.
“We’ll see what happens in the next few weeks and then reassess and look at options later in the season.
There’s plenty of targets in mind, possibly at [Royal] Ascot [in June] or later in the season.”
Emotionless was seen as Godolphin’s main contender for the 2,000 Guineas but its royal blue silks will still go to post on Saturday week aboard Mark Johnston’s Buratino, who was beaten only a length by Shalaa, one of 2015’s best juveniles, in last season’s Middle Park Stakes.
O’Brien’s Air Force Blue, who was already odds-on for the Guineas before news emerged that Emotionless had been scratched, was inevitably cut once again on Thursday morning and is now top-priced at 4-6 with Stan James. Stormy Antarctic, the Craven Stakes winner, is a 10-1 chance with Paddy Power, while Massaat, the Dewhurst runner-up, is 14-1 with Stan James. Buratino is a 16-1 chance alongside Marcel, the 33-1 winner of last year’s Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster.
