Dubai: When people discuss the ‘Dubai effect’ on Godolphin-trained horses the name Lammtarra will most certainly be a case in point.

Lammtarra, who won the Epsom Derby, King George and Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe in one spectacular season in 1995, was euthanised last week after a protracted battle with illness. He was aged 22.

Arguably one of the finest horses ever to race in the stable’s famous blue colours Lammtarra was a unique, pioneering champion who helped forge the Godolphin brand and all that it stood for.

At the end of each European season Godolphin ship a select number of horses from Newmarket to their Dubai base, where they spend the winter months regaining their health and fitness, before returning to the UK to challenge for some of the biggest prizes around the world.

It is a practice that has resulted in some of Godolphin’s most famous victories, but perhaps none more noteworthy than the hat-trick of wins Lammtarra scored in a single calendar year having almost never made it to the racetrack again due to a life-threatening respiratory illness.

As he wintered in Dubai at the state-of-the-art Al Quoz Stables behind the former Metropolitan Hotel on Shaikh Zayed Road, Lammtarra was put through a scientific and well-crafted programme where he received the right amount of nutrition, exercise and rest which allowed him, day by day, to recoup and regain his powers.

Many felt that six months were insufficient for a horse to recover from illness and regain race fitness and when he arrived at Epsom to contest the Derby not too many were enthused. It was, after all, his first visit to a racecourse in 302 days and he was at best a 14-1 outsider, given the fact that the winners of both the English and Irish Guineas, Pennekamp and Spectrum, were attracting all the attention.

But the performance he produced under a young Walter Swinburn was stuff of legend and almost surreal. In two minutes 32.21 seconds, he trumpeted the benefits of wintering in Dubai when running an absolute blinder to break the Derby record and win what is one of the most exhilarating renewals of the great race.

He would go on to win the King George and Arc and claim his place among the greats such as Mill Reef, Nijinsky, Dancing Brave and Shergar. I was too young to have witnessed some of these greats in action, but Lammtarra’s Derby performance under Walter did leave an indelible mark on my consciousness. What I will always remember him for, even though his racing career was far too short-lived, was the Dubai miracle.

Hats off to Godolphin trainer Saeed Bin Surour and his dedicated staff at Al Quoz who nursed Lammtarra back from the brink and who through their dedication and belief helped pull off one of the most phenomenal Derby triumphs.

Perhaps no one summed up his achievement better than His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who said following Lammtarra’s Epsom victory: “He was almost dead. He must be one of the greats to come through that sickness and do this.”