Sakhee adds glory to Godolphin success story

If fairy tales still exist in horse racing, then Sakhee's stunning success in Sunday's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe must surely be one of them. The little Bahri colt revealed a big heart and an ability to match when destroying a high-class field of international runners to win the showpiece race of the European flat racing season.

It truly was a remarkable victory and added another glorious chapter to the Godolphin success story. The memory of Sakhee flying down the historic turf at the Hippodrome de Longchamp leaving horses like Aquarelliste, Sagacity and Golan in his slipstream, will linger long in the minds of racegoers.

A record crowd of over 35,000 spectators witnessed one of the greatest performances in the 80-year-old race, which was instituted to bring together the year of racing in europe with the winners of Classics in England, Ireland, France, Germany and Italy all competing for the first prize of $839,000.

Sakhee went into the mile and a half race as the hot-favourite despite skepticism in some quarters who questioned his ability to handle the soft ground conditions and the extended trip.

The Godolphin colt went on to prove all disbelievers wrong while underlining the vision and total confidence of his stable who were always convinced that they had a potential Arc winner in their ranks following Sakhee's demolition of a top-quality field in the Juddmonte International at York last month.

All this had seemed a dream when Sakhee suffered a major injury during the English Derby last June.

The gruelling Epsom course took its toll on the Bahri colt, who came out of the race with a chip in his leg. He was shipped to Dubai where the Godolphin team trainer Saeed bin Suroor, his assistant Tom Albertrani and Racing manager Simon Crisford, patiently nursed him back to health.

The thing is they did not rush him, and that in essence is perhaps the greatest attribute of a stable that has won close to 80 Group One races in every continent.

Sakhee was bred at Shadwell Stud farm in Ireland and joined a long line of Godolphin's most famous champions – Swain, Lammtarra, Daylami.

It is unfair to draw comparison between horses who have not raced against each other, more so if they belong to the same stable. But it is unavoidable not to compare Sakhee to the two champions of the season – Godolphin's Fantastic Light and Ballydoyle's dual Derby winner Galileo.

Racegoers must be dreaming of a match between this trio of champions, but it unlikely to become a reality, although it would be unwise to put it against Godolphin, who are always open to challenges of any kind.

When asked which horse would he pick should Sakhee and Fantastic Light compete in the same race Godolphin's jockey Frankie Dettori, who on Sunday reached a career milestone of 100 Group One wins, said it would the most difficult decision he would ever have to make.

"In that case I would leave it up to the management to decide," said the Italian-born jockey whose ability in the saddle, infectious humour and spectacular flying dismounts have made him one of modern sports most famous superstars.

For the time being, racegoers will have to wait and hope that their dream-match comes true.