The change of training strategies at Godolphin has precipitated the greatest movement of horses between stables in Australia since 2019. This week’s Run The Numbers breaks down which trainers have been the winners.
Chris Waller has trained winners for everyone from Coolmore to Arrowfield, Yulong and the British royal family over the years, but it wasn’t until Saturday that he got the chance to do it for Godolphin.
The victory of Amusing at Rosehill was the first metropolitan success for Godolphin since it entered the public training model, marking the launch of a new era in the best possible way.
The four-year-old mare is one of just two Australian winners by another Godolphin trailblazer, Masar, who gave the blue army their first Epsom Derby in 2018.
Amusing was the only runner on Saturday for Godolphin, while on Friday, the Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained Expulsion won at Cranbourne, albeit she was with that stable before this season. As things stand, the new Godolphin model is operating at a 100 per cent strike rate.
According to Godolphin’s website, Waller has gained eight horses aged three and over from the new arrangement. The most notable of these is Beiwacht, the Silver Slipper winner of last season, while sprinting mare Commemorative, who is a Group 3 winner and was third in a Group 1 Robert Sangster at her previous run, is also now a member of Sydney’s premier stable.
The others listed are three-year-olds Burma Star, Lipstick, Sphere and Philaletic and last season’s Queensland Oaks runner-up Pinito.
The two-year-old contingent is not listed on Godolphin's website, so it is difficult to determine where that crop of horses will end up. However, among those listed as being trained by Waller through Racing Australia is Cucina, a daughter of Bivouac.
The distribution of the Godolphin horses remains an active process. Godolphin still has 33 horses registered as being trained by Cummings, most of which are spelling.
The stable with the most Godolphin horses listed is the Freedmans, with 19, which is understandable given their existing relationship.
According to Godolphin, the Freedmans already had nine of their horses, headed by Todman Stakes-winning colt Tentyris and Group 3 winner Austmarr.
They have added a further 10, headlined by All Star Mile winner Tom Kitten, but also including Basilica, Bayou Music, Cabriole, Cryosiesms, Gaeilge, Sketch, Sunburnt Country and Visual.
Significantly, 12 of those 19 Godolphin horses with the Freedman stable have just turned three, pointing to plenty of upside with those horses.
Lindsay Park, Australia’s most improved stable last season when it came to winners, has received 11 horses from Godolphin for the new season.
That list includes stakes-performed Pisanello, Aleppo Pine and Chergui and progressive three-year-olds Crocodile, Demarcate, Lamassu, and Tijola.
*Does not include two-year-olds
Also with 11 Godolphin recruits is Australia’s premier trainer, Ciaron Maher.
Maher, who will also assume the Leilani Lodge stables at Randwick, previously occupied by Cummings’ father Anthony and grandfather Bart, has secured Group 1 winner Zardozi and Group 2 Reisling and Percy Sykes winner Tempted.
However, he has also acquired Group 3 winner Corniche and promising three-year-olds, including Custom, Observer, and Zebra Finch.
Michael Freedman, the trainer of two of the past five Golden Slipper winners, has also benefited from an influx of Godolphin horses previously trained by Cummings.
In all, eight horses, five three-year-olds and three four-year-olds, have entered Freedman’s Randwick stables, all of them at the early stages of their career.
Joe Pride has been entrusted with Group 1 Caulfield Guineas winner Golden Mile, along with promising three-year-old Comedy, five-year-old Kerguelen and a quartet of other horses - Casserouse, Cenotaph, Crepe Myrtle and Fabres.
Five horses have headed to Gary Portelli, three by Lonhro - Matima, Mother Goose and Thames - and two by Exceed And Excel in Parfumier and Tong Ho.
Bjorn Baker’s rise to prominence has been one of the stories of the past 12 months and he now has four Godolphin horses under his care, including Group 2 winner Pericles. The other three, Charlecote Mill, Coulter and Green Spaces, have just turned three.
Tony and Calvin McEvoy are the other stable to receive Godolphin horses, with a trio of three-year-olds, Immerse, Organics and Options and a four-year-old, Steel Move.
In terms of the age profile of those horses which have found new stables, there have been 49 three-year-olds, 18 four-year-olds, eight five-year-olds and two six-year-olds change hands.
The sex breakdown of those 78 horses are 36 fillies, 23 colts and 18 geldings.
There are 22 individual sires represented among those horses, with Darley champions Exceed And Excel (13) and Lonhro (10) the most represented, along with Street Boss (10).
Current sire breakdown of Godolphin horses at stables listed above
