Perseverance keeps the fire burning

For the past five years, the Dubai World Cup Carnival has presented Godolphin handler Saeed Bin Surour with the ideal stage to play out a pantomime that has culminated in him being crowned champion trainer.

He has stood tall and basked in the spotlight that once shone fiercely at Nad Al Sheba before it turned on the iconic Meydan racecourse. The numeric details of his achievements are mind-boggling and can be found elsewhere on this page. For the moment, this spot has been reserved for the man himself who tells Gulf News about his timeless hunger for success and his never-say-die approach to the business of training thoroughbred horses.

Saeed's strength is his entire person. He is a huge and active presence at every racecourse he graces where he commands respect and awe. If you know him Saeed speaks with humours quips and anecdotal significance. If you don't he can be unsophisticated.

Fortunately, the Saeed we met before he packed his bags to set sail for Newmarket, England, was more of the former.

It also transpired that most of the success he has garnered since he first took out a trainer's license in 1995, is based on the time-honoured virtue of hard work. Despite have notched more than 1,500 career wins at close to 100 racecourses in 16 different countries Saeed says he is just as hungry as he was when he trained the unbeaten Lammtarra to win Europe's top three races in 1995 — the Derby at Epsom, the King George at Ascot and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp, Paris.

He still goes in search of fresh challenges and is even prepared to confront new frontiers. So, by the looks of things, racing enthusiasts can continue to look forward to him being a lively presence at racecourses around the world. This he guarantees.

Following are the excerpts from the interview.

Gulf News: Saeed, looks like you've made winning the Carnival title a habit. What's the secret, what did it feel like to win it for the fifth time?

SAEED BIN SUROUR: (Laughs) "It was a great result and made everybody in the Godolphin team happy. They all work very hard and results like this are good for their morale. We also won the Godolphin Mile on Dubai World Cup with African Story, and that win capped our season in Dubai. I'm very happy with the horse he's improving all the time and looks like a very nice horse for the future. He will have a light season before we probably take him to Hong Kong. Overall we're very happy with all the horses and the was the season developed. Now we're looking forward to going to England for the start of the English season.

I believe that you leave for England this week to prepare for the new British flat season. How many horses will you be taking with you?

"We leave on Saturday, and I'm hoping to have about 150 horses in training at the Godolphin Stables in Newmarket. It has been my home away from home each year since we transferred from Moulton Paddocks in 2004. We have some nice horses, like African Story, Songcraft, Sandagiyr. We also have a number of promising handicappers and the more seasoned horses, some two year olds and several three years olds. It's a nice string and we're really looking forward to having a good 2012 season.

Which horse has been the biggest improver in the yard?

African Story has been the biggest improver. I like him a lot. He was a little weak last season, but he has been physically improving all of the time this year. We gave him some time and he has kept improving from his first start of this year. He's a nice horse with a big heart and a lot of finishing speed. That's what you want in a race horse. I also like Songcraft, Sandagiyr, Do It All, Soul, but it all depends on how they improve when they arrive in England.

Can you name some of the horses that you are looking forward to running this season?

There are no specific plans for most of the Carnival horses at this point of time. But we'll have to wait and see how they travel to England and settle down there. Delegator will continue to be campaigned in the top Group races between six to eight furlongs, Rio De La Plata will again run in overseas races in Italy, Germany and France. Songcraft, Sandagiyr and Do It All are nice horses and we're looking forward to seeing how they run.

You've been crowned champion trainer in Britain on four occasions, the last time being 2004. Is winning the title again one of your goals this season?

"Let's be honest. It's not easy to be champion trainer in England. I've been racing there for 18 years now and know just how hard it is to be successful. I was lucky to win the title four times and yes, I would like to win it again. But it's not a priority for me. We have more important priorities for the stable now. You also need to have very good horses. I'm not saying I don't have good horses, but you also need to be lucky. Horses pick up injuries, don't run well sometimes, it depends from year to year. At the start of every season we hope and pray that this will be a good season. Like I said it's getting tougher and tougher in England, but hopefully we'll try.

What sort of a journey has it been working with Godolphin for the past 18 years. You've had over 1,500 winners, runners in almost 100 racecourses at 16 countries. Sounds pretty amazing.

"I love to work for Godolphin, it's like my home. I see everybody, everyday more than I see my family. Frankie (Dettori), Simon (Crisford), they're not just my colleagues, but friends. We've gone through a lot over the years. Horses are my life - I'm always with horses, morning, afternoon and evening. But let me tell you that being a trainer can be hard. You have to make a lot of sacrifices. In Dubai we're pretty okay everything is within driving distance, but in England we have to drive miles to get to a racecourse from the stable. Most days I spend 6-8 hours in my car going from one racecourse to another. People don't realise how hard this job can be. But at the same time I enjoy it and wouldn't trade it for anything. It can also be a lot of fun. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but as a professional I take the good with the bad, whatever happens. That's racing. I enjoy it and I love the work.

Do you still want to win races like the Kentucky Derby, Breeders Cup Classic and Melbourne Cup?

Yes. I want to win every race in the world. Can I, that's another thing. For these races you need the right horse. You don't easily find a horse that you can call a Kentucky Derby horse or a Melbourne Cup horse. Horses for these races are special. We've had some nice horses in the past for these races, but perhaps they were not good enough to win, or we were a bit unlucky.

Do you think that horse racing has become more competitive now than when you first started out?

Horse racing has always been ultra-competitive. It all boils down to the kind of horses you have and just how well they measure up to horses from other stables. Everybody is in the sport to win. Some do, some don't. We do our best, but sometimes our best is not good enough. One thing I can say is that we always try very hard. We don't worry about the competition just our horses, to ensure that they are happy and sound and one hundred percent fit when we take them to the racecourse.

It must be reassuring to have someone like Mahmoud (Al Zarouni) share the work load at Godolphin.

"Of course. Mahmoud is a very good trainer. He's done well with the horses he has and I'm very happy that he won the Dubai World Cup for Godolphin. It's been a long time since we last won the race with Electrocutionist in 2006. So it just shows you how difficult it is to win this race, with every trainer in the world trying to win it. But it was great news that Monterosso won the race. Ultimately Godolphin is a team and we share the same goals. It does not matter who saddled the winner, only the face that it is one of ours."

DID YOU KNOW?

BIN SUROUR'S 5 BEST HORSES