Quote:
|
Originally Posted by my miss storm cat
Considering he clearly has (shock of all shocks) an agenda, it's a well-written (slanted!) piece anyway.
A question.... this Mr. Jeffreys ("... they scorn prying eyes"???) is a freelance writer or is he on the staff?
A few points..... most Sunday newspaper features are put to bed on Thursday so I'd assume there were two versions..... the one where the Godolphin runner won and this one. I'm assuming, of course, that this piece appeared in the print version.
My reason for bringing this up is that it seems to me a pre-meditated (what's a word for an attack that doesn't seem like it's an attack? Insert it here) .... his ducks were lined up and he was just waiting, hoping to use the better version where the runner failed.
The part the author left out was the fact that they didn't have faith in Laverock and PUBLICALLY SAID SO a day or two before the race.
Jealousy is a funny thing and i keep wondering if they were not Arab.....
There is racism in racing... has it always been that way?
To be fair, Godolphin has had 14 winners in the past month...
Ramonti
Rio de las Plata
Scriptwriter
Twilight Star
Blue Ksar
Stage Gift
Emirates to Dubai
Spring City
Pictivia
Gongidas
Rio de la Plata
Perfectperformance
Purple Emperor
Mariotto
How long will they last, you ask? Hopefully for a longass time. They support racing all over the world, they're good for the game and this microscope that they're under is not only unfair it's getting old.
It's their money.... when they offer exorbitant amounts for horses no one bothers to slam the seller(s).....
Okay well I can go on and on here but I'll end it.
GO GODOLPHIN, GO!  |
I'm sorry, but you seem very miss informed about the Godolphin operation and the way newspapers are written over here, especially Sunday Newspapers. Weekend newspapers are a big thing over here, a large percentage of people will only buy a newspaper on a Saturday and Sunday. Although i cannot be sure, i would say this article was written on the Saturday, not on the Thursday like you suggested.
I know you are a big fan of all things Godolphin, but this has clouded your judgement in my opinion. They are next to ruined.
Saeed Bin Suroor is getting all the blame for what has happened over the past few years (even from me) until i found out he has very little to do with the training of the horses, apart from having his name written next to every horse and maybe watching them train in the mornings. Simon Crisford sticks his nose in and starts telling people how to train and which horses they should be buying (all of this coming from someone who was just a journalist before landing this job, and didn't have a clue about horses when he was younger when he started to work at a stud farm). He and Saeed have fallen out many times about the decisions that have been made.
Then there is John Ferguson, apparently one of the top bloodstock agents in the world. He must go to the sale ring with a blindfold on, is all i can say. It is true that Coolmore have started bidding for a horse they don't even like to make sure John bids slightly higher and then looks a fool (Jalil, anyone). But as long as he beats Coolmore in a bidding war, Sheikh Mohammed is happy. Now that is jealousy. How bad must it feel to have that much money and not be able to compete in this sport at all?
MMSC, you list the winners they have had in the past month. Fair enough but i noticed you didn't put the races in which they won and the prize money they picked up or a percentage of runners to winners in the past month. Or what would look even worse the percentage of runners to horses they have in the stables at the moment. People get unhappy with particular trainers when horses break down, how come no one gets mad with Godolphin? That's because no one ever knows. I will let you think what you like of the gallop watcher's comment in the article.
They have no plan, no agenda, no clue. They buy everything they see just in hope of getting a good horse. The problem is that they have bought good horses, but they ruin them. Imperial Stride, Vista Bella, The Geezer, Prince Tamino, Rallying Cry, Hinterland...... i could continue but it would get silly.
The worrying thig is that most of the horses they bred themselves have turned out to be very moderate by their (past) standards.
Then we come to the breeding operation. As Tony Morris summed up, it is useless. No good stallions, no one particularly wants to send their mares to a Darley stallion. They are having to spend a huge amount of money, which will take years to break even on (and that isn't certain to happen, either). Yes they have the money and they can do what they like with it, but they have shown time and time again that they cannot run a business, let alone a business of this size.
You say blame the sellers, why? If some fool offers you $1milion for a horse which you know is only worth $150,000 you would say no? I very much doubt it. Put it this way, if someone knocked on your door and said here's $250,000 for your car, can i have it? You would take the money and throw them the keys without any questions asked. The sellers are running a successful business, that is the difference.
A few things Godolphin need to do to start being successful. Sack Crisford, he has shown time and again he cannot handle the role he is working as. Let Saeed do his thing, he is a good horseman and he would certainly give these horses time instead of breaking them down on the gallops and have them sent as dog meat. They should also cut down on the size of the training operation, they cannot handle 300-400 horses, no one can. You're telling me that within those 400 horses they couldn't find one good enough to run in the guineas, derby or eclipse? If that is true then they really do have problems. 150 horses MAX and they will know each horse as an individual, like Aidan O'Brien does. Stop buying all these yearlings, they have to give their breeding operation a chance, but instead they are basically saying "we don't trust our breeding operation" and what sort of an image does that put out to mare owners around the world?
I want them to succeed because i'm fed up with Coolmore storming clear each and every year. The fact is that Coolmore run a business, they know all the horses they train. They don't go mad at the sales and they stick to a budget (something, which all businesses must do, no matter how much money they have disposable). They back their breeding operation up by winning all of these races with home breds. It's a free marketing campaign for them. They don't have to spend thousands of full page spreads in ever horse racing publication around, their record is good enough marketing on it's own. Godolphin need to take a long hard look at themselves and come up with a strict plan. They are ruining European racing with these tactics and they are ruining themselves. This "stupidity" about not buying any progeny of a coolmore stallion has to stop, it hasn't worked out as they had planned, in fact it has been thrown back in their face. Over the years they have done this, Coolmore have pulled further and further clear.
The article that was written has nothing to do with jealousy, it is a fact based article, with many different opinions, all of which are saying that something needs to be done. This article sums up what i get told on a weekly basis from a friend that works there, but not for much longer. The staff are sick of it, they are there for the healthy wage packet they get (25-30,000 a year) just for riding a few horses out every day and only having to work 3 afternoons a week. I know of storied where the work riders have come into work at 6.30am and then they have finished by 7.30am because there aren't enough horses to ride. Up to 400 horses and there aren't enough to ride, mostly because about 50% of them are crippled.
Come to Newmarket for a week, MMSC and i'm certain your attitude towards Godolphin would change.
I respect you and i like how you have stuck by them, but the amount of horses i have liked that have been ruined by them was enough for me. Before i knew the ex General manager, i had no idea about the business side of things but the stories i was told left me in complete shock.
I hope you don't see this as a dig at you in anyway, but i'm trying to get you to see sense.