Dubai: Team Godolphin may have once more missed the mark in their quest to win the Group 1 Emirates Melbourne Cup, the world’s most famous two-mile handicap, but they were quick to assert the result won’t stop them from trying.
The Dubai-owned stable threw five horses into the fray with Australia-based Hartnell running a brave third and Qwey, who is trained in the UK, taking fourth place behind the winner Almandin, a German import ridden by ex-Godolphin jockey Kerrin McEvoy.
Long-serving Godolphin handler Saeed Bin Surour, who twice came close to winning the Cup with Central Park in 2001 and Crime Scene in 2009, both of whom who finished runner-up, saddled Beautiful Romance to claim seventh place.
Godolphin chief executive and racing manager John Ferguson put the stable’s racing philosophy into context and said: At the end of the day to come here and finish third and fourth is a great achievement.
“I’m absolutely delighted with the way the team has operated and, most importantly, we’ll keep trying.”
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, created Godolphin in 1994 with the mission to develop it into the world’s premier racing stable.
Today Team Godolphin spans four continents from its home in Dubai to Europe, Australia and America, and is widely commended for its countless global successes.
Just last month they were crowned Britain’s Champion Owner for the 11th time having earned a staggering £4,213,524 (Dh18,91 million) in prize money.
The Melbourne Cup may remain elusive but Team Godolphin will doubtless be putting their heads together to plan ahead for next year’s renewal of the great race.
Horses that stay the two mile trip don’t come along every day and even though Hartnell and Co may have just fallen short, it would have given them hope to return with greater resolve twelve months from now.
Charlie Appleby, who sent out Qewy to win the Group 3 Geelong Cup two weeks ago en route to the horse earned a place in the starting ling-up for Tuesday’s race, was characteristically philosophical and said: “Qewy’s gone and run the race of his life. We came here without even being in the race, we won our way into the Melbourne Cup and we’ve done well.
“We’ve also learned a lot and we’ll be back with a bigger team next year.”
Ferguson was mindful of the enormous challenge that the Australian showpiece represented when prior to the race he said: “Horses for Australia need that sort of stamina to combat the great speed that the local horses have.
“Hartnell had that, and John O’Shea and his team have developed him into a versatile, classy racehorse.”
Versatility and class are two essential ingredients that a Melbourne Cup champion boasts, but perhaps there remains a secret factor, luck notwithstanding, that makes him a winner.
