Dubai: Trainer Saeed Bin Surour hopes former champion jockey Kieren Fallon, who has been cast into the Godolphin spotlight, can play a mentoring role for the stable’s retained jockeys Silvestre de Sousa and Mickael Barzalona.
Bin Surour stunned the racing world on Sunday when he revealed that the 49-year-old Irishman, who was British champion six times, will replace De Sousa aboard the stable’s principal Epsom Derby (G1) aspirant, True Story, in next Saturday’s Dante Stakes (G2) at York on May 15.
Godolphin are hoping to pick up some valuable Classic clues and establish whether the German-bred colt has progressed since his imposing seven-length romp to victory in the Listed Feilden Stakes at Newmarket three weeks ago.
Speaking to Gulf News from Newmarket on Tuesday, Bin Surour stressed that the decision to turn to Fallon was no affront to the capabilities of De Sousa, who had ridden True Story to victory at Newmarket.
“It is in the best interests of the stable to offer the Dante ride to Kieren,” said Bin Surour. “He is no stranger to us having ridden Prince Bishop to win two races during the Carnival and in the Dubai World Cup.
“Kieren is one of the most experienced riders in the business today and we have developed a strong partnership over the winter where he has ridden some of our top horses at work. He has provided us with invaluable feedback regarding the horses, which has been of significant help in planning strategies for their subsequent races.
“This has nothing to do with Silvestre or his ability. He will still ride the best horses for me whenever required. But with so many races to look at, we will consider Kieren more than we have in the past,” he added.
“I have known him for over 20 years and am in agreement that he is a world-class jockey.”
It seems more and more apparent that, with the experienced Frankie Dettori no longer riding for Godolphin, Bin Surour has sought to fall back on Fallon’s vast knowledge to provide him with precious insights on the wellbeing of his runners while riding out in the mornings.
Bin Surour said Fallon was “very happy” with the way True Story has been working and was really looking forward to partnering him in the Dante.
“He rode him in a race gallop on Saturday and felt that the horse has improved since his last start in the Feilden,” said Bin Surour. “He believes he is right where he should be heading to — the Dante. We think a mile and a half [12f] is his best trip, but we’ll like to see how he fares over the shorter trip at York [10f].”
Fallon, who has previously ridden for some of the sport’s biggest trainers, including the late Sir Henry Cecil, Sir Michael Stoute and Aidan O’Brien, was full of praise for the Godolphin operation when speaking to Channel 4 Racing during last week’s Guineas Festival
“It’s fantastic news for me,” said the three-time Epsom Derby winner. “Godolphin have a lot of good horses. There’s so much racing now at the weekends with big races clashing that there will be plenty of good rides for both of us [De Sousa].
“Saeed has always been good with me and I’ve been lucky to ride good horses for Godolphin. They rescued me after my worst season in Britain last year and, since then, I’ve had a great time with them in Dubai, where Saeed was champion trainer.”
