 | The 100th win came in controversial circumstances |
Godolphin was made to sweat on its 100th Group One win in the Arlington Million, but a stewards' inquiry finally gave victory to Sulamani.
The stable's landmark triumph in Chicago was the culmination of a decade of defying conventional wisdom as to how horses should be trained.
Just as Martin Pipe revolutionised jump racing by introducing modern training methods, so Godolphin rewrote the manual on getting the best out of horses on the flat.
But while Pipe's impact has been limited to these shores, the Godolphin effect has rippled worldwide.
The organisation, based in both Dubai and Newmarket, has pioneered the approach that thoroughbred horses can be raced around the globe.
Having seen Godolphin's success, other training establishments are now sending horses around the world in an attempt to plunder prestigious races and lucrative prizes.
In turn, this has meant that racing fans in the UK are now more interested in the big events in the US, Australia and the Middle and Far East.
Godolphin is the brainchild of Dubai's ruling family, the Maktoums, with Sheikh Mohammed the driving force behind the operation.
| GODOLPHIN'S KEY FIGURES Sheikh Mohammed: The driving force behind the whole operation Saeed bin Suroor: Main trainer, based at Al Quoz stables in Dubai for the winter and Moulton Paddocks, Newmarket, in the summer Frankie Dettori: Stable jockey Simon Crisford: Racing manager and spokesman David Loder: Trains two-year-olds in Newmarket Eoin Harty: Trains two-year-olds in the US |
Its basic, if rather lofty, purpose is the pursuit of excellence in training Flat horses.
Horses spend the winter in Dubai and then come to England in the spring, the idea being that the warm Middle Eastern climate will benefit their training pattern.
Sheikh Mohammed, like his brothers Sheikh Maktoum, Sheikh Hamdan and Sheikh Ahmed, runs horses in his own name and colours but all feed many of them into the Godolphin set-up.
Few can doubt the success of the Godolphin racing "experiment" - 100 Group One winners in 11 different countries - among them 11 British Classics.
Sheikh Mohammed's enthusiasm for worldwide racing led to the establishment of the World Series, which links some of the top races on the planet to create a global competition.
And his ambition has been been aided by improvements in equine air travel, which has allowed horses to become globetrotters.
No expense has been spared in the Maktoums' pursuit of their goal and the slick operation is run like clockwork with every attention to detail.
Such is the scale of the Godolphin project that instead of entering the traditional early season Classic trials held in England, Ireland and France, they hold their own private races in Dubai.
Although Godolphin has specialist juvenile trainers whose aim is to prepare colts and fillies for their Classic (three-year-old) campaign, it is not afraid to buy in promising talent from elsewhere.
This has led to claims from some quarters that Godolphin is using its financial clout to buy success and not all are sympathetic when the stable goes through a lean spell.
But while this season has been refreshing in that the big prizes have been spread among the smaller fish in Flat racing's pond, no-one can dispute Godolphin has raised the profile of racing worldwide and the bar for others to aspire to.
MMIX
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