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27 Apr 13
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Positive tests at Moulton Paddocks prompt disbelief in local stables – but doubts surface over pre-training yards
Chris Cook
guardian.co.uk
Chris Cook in Newmarket
The Observer, Saturday 27 April 2013
Horse racing is a sport of nudges and winks, of whispered confidences and gossip, in which the greatest fear for many people is to appear naive and unknowing. So it is encouraging that, even in private conversation, the trainers in this town express shock over Monday's revelation that one of their number, Mahmood al-Zarooni, has been doping some of his horses with anabolic steroids.
Not everyone is happy to discuss the matter on the record. There is a natural reluctance among some to add to the misfortunes of a man whose reputation was healthy one week but who has now been banished from the game for eight years, his career apparently over, in Britain, at least.
Other trainers have horses in their yard owned by members of the Maktoum family, whose head, Sheikh Mohammed, employed Zarooni at his Moulton Paddocks stable here and is reportedly furious to learn that one of his trainers has broken the rules so dramatically, destroying the good name of the Sheikh's Godolphin operation. Understandably, it is not easy for reporters to get quotes on this issue from trainers who benefit from Maktoum patronage, or who hope to do so. Even so, one of the town's bigger names says: "I can't get over how insane the whole thing is. You don't mess around with that stuff, like any kid knows."
Gay Kelleway, who is based at Exning on Newmarket's northern edge, says: "I'm astonished, a big stable, big operation like that. It's hard enough to beat them when they're not on anything. They're the most expensive, richest horses in the world. What chance have we got, little trainers?"
"Everyone's very disappointed that such a big outfit has been caught," says Rae Guest, whose Chestnut Tree Stables is one of many on the town's Hamilton Road. "You should be leading by example if you're the top ones."
But Guest, who serves on the council of the National Trainer's Federation, underlines his faith in the drug-testing system run by the British Horseracing Authority, which caught Zarooni. "If it was in any way slipshod, you'd be worried, but it's so thorough, I can't see how anyone could expect to get away with it. It [steroid use] is not commonplace, definitely."
Michael Bell, one of Newmarket's Derby-winning trainers, is based at Fitzroy House, just behind the High Street. "The home-bred trainers are acutely aware of what drugs are legal and illegal," he says, "and anyone who does it risks their licence. You're putting your livelihood at stake if you use illegal substances. So I would say it's not an across-the-board problem. It appears to be one guy going off on his own, taking the law into his own hands. By being tested, you get found out. There's no escape."
Speaking at his yard in Newmarket's Exeter Road, John Berry is not quite so confident about the existing system. "There's so many things about the affair that just defy belief but one of them is that he's stupid enough to get caught," Berry says, pointing out that two Zarooni horses tested positive for a painkiller last year and that therefore "he would have known that he was odds-on to receive a spot-check at some point."
Berry has some knowledge of ethylestrenol, one of the steroids used by Zarooni, from his time working for trainers in Australia many years ago, when he knew it by its trade name of Nitrotain. This, he says, washes through a horse's system in about a week. "To have one of the favourites for the 1,000 Guineas [Certify] in your yard and to have her tested three weeks before the race and to have her have had Nitrotain within the last week is just plain stupidity," he says.
Berry reports that the BHA's testers descend unannounced on "a handful" of stables each year, which he believes is enough of a deterrent for most people. But he also feels such measures have a limited impact because "larger stables use pre-training yards … So, if [drugs] were in any horse's system, the ones who would have them in their system wouldn't be present at the time anyway".
While steroids can pass through a horse's system in a short time, the benefit derived from them may last for much longer, Berry says. A horse could spend months in a pre-training yard, getting daily doses of steroids, and the BHA would be unable to prove it because such yards are unlicensed and their testers have no right to enter them. Horses are only required to be in a licensed yard for a fortnight before racing.
A BHA official, given the chance to contradict the factual basis for Berry's concern, did not do so. But Berry also takes the view that steroids cannot be relied upon to improve a horse's ability as they would a human athlete.
"If you could get a horse so that he was that much bulkier than the others, he'd probably break down. If you could get his blood so much richer than the others, he'd start bleeding. There are optimum levels for everything. And if it's been routine to use this in Zarooni's stable, his results suggest they're more of a hindrance than a help."
Newmarket is a town where everyone seems to know everyone else's business, where people report the feeling that they live in a goldfish bowl, but Moulton Paddocks, on the town's eastern edge, retains some sense of mystery. Entirely enclosed, it has its own private gallops, whereas most of the town's horses do their exercise in public spaces.
"The funny thing is, I don't know who works there. If I bumped into someone in the town that I knew worked for Godolphin, it would be 1-20 that they worked for Saeed," Berry says, referring to Saeed bin Suroor, Godolphin's other Newmarket trainer, whose stable is closer and whose horses use public gallops.
The BHA's investigation will continue with the testing of all horses at Moulton Paddocks, but Berry can see no point to that. "It won't add to anyone's knowledge of who's had what, all it'll do is tell us who's got what in their system now. You'd like to think that, since the 9th of April [when the testers turned up], no one's had anything."
Chris Cook
guardian.co.uk
Chris Cook in Newmarket
The Observer, Saturday 27 April 2013
Horse racing is a sport of nudges and winks, of whispered confidences and gossip, in which the greatest fear for many people is to appear naive and unknowing. So it is encouraging that, even in private conversation, the trainers in this town express shock over Monday's revelation that one of their number, Mahmood al-Zarooni, has been doping some of his horses with anabolic steroids.
Not everyone is happy to discuss the matter on the record. There is a natural reluctance among some to add to the misfortunes of a man whose reputation was healthy one week but who has now been banished from the game for eight years, his career apparently over, in Britain, at least.
Other trainers have horses in their yard owned by members of the Maktoum family, whose head, Sheikh Mohammed, employed Zarooni at his Moulton Paddocks stable here and is reportedly furious to learn that one of his trainers has broken the rules so dramatically, destroying the good name of the Sheikh's Godolphin operation. Understandably, it is not easy for reporters to get quotes on this issue from trainers who benefit from Maktoum patronage, or who hope to do so. Even so, one of the town's bigger names says: "I can't get over how insane the whole thing is. You don't mess around with that stuff, like any kid knows."
Gay Kelleway, who is based at Exning on Newmarket's northern edge, says: "I'm astonished, a big stable, big operation like that. It's hard enough to beat them when they're not on anything. They're the most expensive, richest horses in the world. What chance have we got, little trainers?"
"Everyone's very disappointed that such a big outfit has been caught," says Rae Guest, whose Chestnut Tree Stables is one of many on the town's Hamilton Road. "You should be leading by example if you're the top ones."
But Guest, who serves on the council of the National Trainer's Federation, underlines his faith in the drug-testing system run by the British Horseracing Authority, which caught Zarooni. "If it was in any way slipshod, you'd be worried, but it's so thorough, I can't see how anyone could expect to get away with it. It [steroid use] is not commonplace, definitely."
Michael Bell, one of Newmarket's Derby-winning trainers, is based at Fitzroy House, just behind the High Street. "The home-bred trainers are acutely aware of what drugs are legal and illegal," he says, "and anyone who does it risks their licence. You're putting your livelihood at stake if you use illegal substances. So I would say it's not an across-the-board problem. It appears to be one guy going off on his own, taking the law into his own hands. By being tested, you get found out. There's no escape."
Speaking at his yard in Newmarket's Exeter Road, John Berry is not quite so confident about the existing system. "There's so many things about the affair that just defy belief but one of them is that he's stupid enough to get caught," Berry says, pointing out that two Zarooni horses tested positive for a painkiller last year and that therefore "he would have known that he was odds-on to receive a spot-check at some point."
Berry has some knowledge of ethylestrenol, one of the steroids used by Zarooni, from his time working for trainers in Australia many years ago, when he knew it by its trade name of Nitrotain. This, he says, washes through a horse's system in about a week. "To have one of the favourites for the 1,000 Guineas [Certify] in your yard and to have her tested three weeks before the race and to have her have had Nitrotain within the last week is just plain stupidity," he says.
Berry reports that the BHA's testers descend unannounced on "a handful" of stables each year, which he believes is enough of a deterrent for most people. But he also feels such measures have a limited impact because "larger stables use pre-training yards … So, if [drugs] were in any horse's system, the ones who would have them in their system wouldn't be present at the time anyway".
While steroids can pass through a horse's system in a short time, the benefit derived from them may last for much longer, Berry says. A horse could spend months in a pre-training yard, getting daily doses of steroids, and the BHA would be unable to prove it because such yards are unlicensed and their testers have no right to enter them. Horses are only required to be in a licensed yard for a fortnight before racing.
A BHA official, given the chance to contradict the factual basis for Berry's concern, did not do so. But Berry also takes the view that steroids cannot be relied upon to improve a horse's ability as they would a human athlete.
"If you could get a horse so that he was that much bulkier than the others, he'd probably break down. If you could get his blood so much richer than the others, he'd start bleeding. There are optimum levels for everything. And if it's been routine to use this in Zarooni's stable, his results suggest they're more of a hindrance than a help."
Newmarket is a town where everyone seems to know everyone else's business, where people report the feeling that they live in a goldfish bowl, but Moulton Paddocks, on the town's eastern edge, retains some sense of mystery. Entirely enclosed, it has its own private gallops, whereas most of the town's horses do their exercise in public spaces.
"The funny thing is, I don't know who works there. If I bumped into someone in the town that I knew worked for Godolphin, it would be 1-20 that they worked for Saeed," Berry says, referring to Saeed bin Suroor, Godolphin's other Newmarket trainer, whose stable is closer and whose horses use public gallops.
The BHA's investigation will continue with the testing of all horses at Moulton Paddocks, but Berry can see no point to that. "It won't add to anyone's knowledge of who's had what, all it'll do is tell us who's got what in their system now. You'd like to think that, since the 9th of April [when the testers turned up], no one's had anything."
Show More
Impressed with Sir Henry keeping shtum when he has a chance to sneer at Mr goody sheik shoes
That lot above is a total load of bollox.Nobody gives a flying fukc about what happened.
Apart from job prospects for 3 people...............Newmarket could not give a monkeys......nor the wider world.
FACT
Apart from job prospects for 3 people...............Newmarket could not give a monkeys......nor the wider world.
FACT
Gay Kelleway, who is based at Exning on Newmarket's northern edge, says: "I'm astonished, a big stable, big operation like that. It's hard enough to beat them when they're not on anything. They're the most expensive, richest horses in the world. What chance have we got, little trainers?"
Get Panorama to do an episode on integrity in racing Gay........I'm sure that would help
Get Panorama to do an episode on integrity in racing Gay........I'm sure that would help
Michael Bell, one of Newmarket's Derby-winning trainers, is based at Fitzroy House, just behind the High Street. "The home-bred trainers are acutely aware of what drugs are legal and illegal
Good auld Blighty eh
Good auld Blighty eh
Pity some of em arent aware that horses should be running on their merits while achieving handicap marks....
Never saw many of Zarooni's hooked up out the back in maidens...... 50% roi on debutants.....
Never saw many of Zarooni's hooked up out the back in maidens...... 50% roi on debutants.....
While steroids can pass through a horse's system in a short time, the benefit derived from them may last for much longer, Berry says. A horse could spend months in a pre-training yard, getting daily doses of steroids, and the BHA would be unable to prove it because such yards are unlicensed and their testers have no right to enter them. Horses are only required to be in a licensed yard for a fortnight before racing.
But Berry then gets defensive and says the benefits can be just as much a hindrance rather than a benefit?, well considering the Aussies think steroid use is almost an essential part of training horses suggests the complete opposite?
Spot on GB.............the UK at the cutting edge?
Waynkers imo......I do not condone the use of any artificial stimulant/enhancer.............but PAUL BITTAR is crawling too far up their arses to be objective.
Waynkers imo......I do not condone the use of any artificial stimulant/enhancer.............but PAUL BITTAR is crawling too far up their arses to be objective.
BHA must summon Sheikh Mohammed to answer questions over how his drug-hit stable Godolphin is run
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has put a lot of roofs over a lot of heads, so you can understand the fear in the sport that this week’s doping scandal involving 15 of his horses might end with the game’s most powerful owner abandoning British racing.
BHA must take its biggest gamble and summon Sheikh Mohammed to answer questions over how his drug-hit stable Godolphin is run
By Paul Hayward, Chief Sports Writer telegraph.co.uk
10:00PM BST 27 Apr 2013
The names were beautiful, the crime was ugly. Desert Blossom, Fair Hill, Ghostflower, Orkney Island, Sweet Rose, and Valley Of Queens were among the animals who tested positive for two steroids administered by Mahmood Al Zarooni, one of the Sheikh’s two big Newmarket trainers, who was warned off on Thursday by the British Horseracing Authority for eight years and now faces the wrath of Dubai, where the Godolphin operation was supposed to advertise the virility of the oil-state run by the Maktoums.
As the inquest into racing’s greatest doping scandal widens, the BHA must take its biggest gamble and summon the Sheikh himself to answer questions about how his vast racing team is run. The BHA say they will “meet” him but have no plans to “interview” him. As Al Zarooni’s employer and the owner of Moulton Paddocks Stables, where the needles were used, the Sheikh has a duty to do more than issue condemnatory statements from Dubai.
In an interview last year with Geoffrey Riddle for The National, a United Arab Emirates-based newspaper, Al Zarooni said of Sheikh Mohammed: “He’s my master. He’s the one telling me to do this, this, this. He calls me daily, nearly. He must be so busy. He runs a whole country, but often he comes here to watch the gallops, sometimes for morning and evening lots.
“It is his idea how to work the horses. What they do exactly, what pace they go and over which distances they run. He tells me: ‘Mahmood feed that horse this, or this horse doesn’t look too good’, and so on.”
Clearly no complicity in doping is implied but the owner’s evidence on how Al Zarooni’s yard was run would be valuable. The Shiekh’s official expression of anger and disgust at the nefarious deeds of an employee he elevated to the big time has not solved the mystery of why Al Zarooni resorted to cheating with such blue-blooded thoroughbreds, how long the injections were going on for, or who else in the Godolphin operation knew Britain’s “zero tolerance” rules were being flouted.
In crisis mode, and with the Sheikh’s reputation tarnished, Godolphin on Saturday avoided the obvious temptation to claim the problem had been cleared up by Al Zarooni’s removal. Simon Crisford, the Sheikh’s right-hand man, who has taken the blame for recommending Al Zarooni, flew to Dubai to meet his employer promising to “flush out any, any bit of corruption from the core. It has to go, we have to know the truth and we will get to the bottom of it.”
The speed of Al Zarooni’s arraignment suggested to some that a quick show trial might be staged to protect Sheikh Mohammed’s dignity, while other conspirators sank into the background on Newmarket Heath, where 450 Godolphin horses are divided between Al Zarooni - whose yard is now in lock-down for testing of every inmate - and Saeed bin Surror. The scale of the Maktoum investment in British racing is such that a withdrawal by Sheikh Mohammed would devastate not only Newmarket but the top echelons of the sport, which is dominated by the big Arab owners and the so-called ‘Coolmore mafia’ in Ireland.
But the BHA, encouragingly, does not consider the scandal closed. At Thursday’s hearing it emerged that two foremen and a veterinary assistant were also involved, whether unwittingly or not. This narrative requires proper investigation with cross-examination for the BHA to determine who should face further charges and who inside the Godolphin set-up should no longer be employed.
Paul Bittar, the BHA chief executive, said: “Some of the investigations are on-going. The vet’s assistant who has been mentioned is a nebulous term in a way as he’s not really a vet at all, he just simply assists, but he’s not captured under the rules. The interviews with the foremen are on-going but because of Al Zarooni having responsibility for the horses we needed to deal with him first.
“We asked Al Zarooni if he’d ever administered steroids before and he said he hasn’t. Both his yard and Saeed bin Suroor’s have been tested before and all those results came back negative. The investigation is not complete and whether the evidence brings about further charges I couldn’t comment, it’s wherever the evidence takes us.”
Focus also shifts now to the 600-700 out of competition tests conducted each year on the 20,000 horses registered in training. Although 7,182 raceday samples were taken last year, the Al Zarooni case throws up the nightmare scenario of widespread performance-enhancing drug use in the training process, which would be consistent with other sports such as cycling and athletics. If a top stable packed with designer bloodstock can feel the need to cheat, what is the likelihood of illegal chemicals being used at smaller, struggling yards?
Godolphin’s change in attitude as the week wore on displayed a growing awareness of what will be needed to cleanse the Augean stables. Crisford began by saying: “This is an isolated incident at the hands of a reckless person who has shown no respect for horse racing in this country. The vet’s assistant had no idea what he was injecting. He had a direct order from the trainer. Everybody knows that you can’t use steroids in England.
“I represent the owner’s best interests. Of course, one of my responsibilities is to oversee the trainers in Godolphin, but I cannot be involved in a day-to-day business about what kind of medication these trainers are using. I recommended the appointment of Mahmood and today that has proved to be very poor judgment.”
As the contagion spread, and his own indignation increased, Crisford talked of “flushing out corruption”. When all the facts are known, Godolphin will ask themselves how a trainer could import steroids from Dubai and illegally inject the winter favourite for the 1,000 Guineas without anyone in senior management knowing. The bloodletting could be intense.
“When his horses failed the tests for painkillers last year, we sat down with him and told him he had to keep his records maintained in a much more efficient manner,” Crisford said of Al Zarooni. “I had lengthy conversations with him about that but I’m afraid he’s betrayed the trust we put in him and he’s let everybody down, not only Godolphin but the British public, too.
“We’ll have nothing to do with him again and I have no sympathy for him. It will take a long time to recover from this, but Sheikh Mohammed will make sure everything is done and that the stable is 100 per cent clean before any horses get transferred to any other stables. I haven’t considered my position because I’ve been told to clear this mess up and that’s what I’ll be doing.”
Bittar says: “British racing should be really proud that there is zero tolerance here as far as anabolic steroids are concerned. I look to Australia and think it’s anomalous that they take such a view of athletes using performance-enhancing drugs but think it’s OK to use them on horses.”
This commendable policy showed British racing in a good light, but the final step would be the most risky: summoning Sheikh Mohammed himself to be interviewed about the cheating in his empire.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has put a lot of roofs over a lot of heads, so you can understand the fear in the sport that this week’s doping scandal involving 15 of his horses might end with the game’s most powerful owner abandoning British racing.
BHA must take its biggest gamble and summon Sheikh Mohammed to answer questions over how his drug-hit stable Godolphin is run
By Paul Hayward, Chief Sports Writer telegraph.co.uk
10:00PM BST 27 Apr 2013
The names were beautiful, the crime was ugly. Desert Blossom, Fair Hill, Ghostflower, Orkney Island, Sweet Rose, and Valley Of Queens were among the animals who tested positive for two steroids administered by Mahmood Al Zarooni, one of the Sheikh’s two big Newmarket trainers, who was warned off on Thursday by the British Horseracing Authority for eight years and now faces the wrath of Dubai, where the Godolphin operation was supposed to advertise the virility of the oil-state run by the Maktoums.
As the inquest into racing’s greatest doping scandal widens, the BHA must take its biggest gamble and summon the Sheikh himself to answer questions about how his vast racing team is run. The BHA say they will “meet” him but have no plans to “interview” him. As Al Zarooni’s employer and the owner of Moulton Paddocks Stables, where the needles were used, the Sheikh has a duty to do more than issue condemnatory statements from Dubai.
In an interview last year with Geoffrey Riddle for The National, a United Arab Emirates-based newspaper, Al Zarooni said of Sheikh Mohammed: “He’s my master. He’s the one telling me to do this, this, this. He calls me daily, nearly. He must be so busy. He runs a whole country, but often he comes here to watch the gallops, sometimes for morning and evening lots.
“It is his idea how to work the horses. What they do exactly, what pace they go and over which distances they run. He tells me: ‘Mahmood feed that horse this, or this horse doesn’t look too good’, and so on.”
Clearly no complicity in doping is implied but the owner’s evidence on how Al Zarooni’s yard was run would be valuable. The Shiekh’s official expression of anger and disgust at the nefarious deeds of an employee he elevated to the big time has not solved the mystery of why Al Zarooni resorted to cheating with such blue-blooded thoroughbreds, how long the injections were going on for, or who else in the Godolphin operation knew Britain’s “zero tolerance” rules were being flouted.
In crisis mode, and with the Sheikh’s reputation tarnished, Godolphin on Saturday avoided the obvious temptation to claim the problem had been cleared up by Al Zarooni’s removal. Simon Crisford, the Sheikh’s right-hand man, who has taken the blame for recommending Al Zarooni, flew to Dubai to meet his employer promising to “flush out any, any bit of corruption from the core. It has to go, we have to know the truth and we will get to the bottom of it.”
The speed of Al Zarooni’s arraignment suggested to some that a quick show trial might be staged to protect Sheikh Mohammed’s dignity, while other conspirators sank into the background on Newmarket Heath, where 450 Godolphin horses are divided between Al Zarooni - whose yard is now in lock-down for testing of every inmate - and Saeed bin Surror. The scale of the Maktoum investment in British racing is such that a withdrawal by Sheikh Mohammed would devastate not only Newmarket but the top echelons of the sport, which is dominated by the big Arab owners and the so-called ‘Coolmore mafia’ in Ireland.
But the BHA, encouragingly, does not consider the scandal closed. At Thursday’s hearing it emerged that two foremen and a veterinary assistant were also involved, whether unwittingly or not. This narrative requires proper investigation with cross-examination for the BHA to determine who should face further charges and who inside the Godolphin set-up should no longer be employed.
Paul Bittar, the BHA chief executive, said: “Some of the investigations are on-going. The vet’s assistant who has been mentioned is a nebulous term in a way as he’s not really a vet at all, he just simply assists, but he’s not captured under the rules. The interviews with the foremen are on-going but because of Al Zarooni having responsibility for the horses we needed to deal with him first.
“We asked Al Zarooni if he’d ever administered steroids before and he said he hasn’t. Both his yard and Saeed bin Suroor’s have been tested before and all those results came back negative. The investigation is not complete and whether the evidence brings about further charges I couldn’t comment, it’s wherever the evidence takes us.”
Focus also shifts now to the 600-700 out of competition tests conducted each year on the 20,000 horses registered in training. Although 7,182 raceday samples were taken last year, the Al Zarooni case throws up the nightmare scenario of widespread performance-enhancing drug use in the training process, which would be consistent with other sports such as cycling and athletics. If a top stable packed with designer bloodstock can feel the need to cheat, what is the likelihood of illegal chemicals being used at smaller, struggling yards?
Godolphin’s change in attitude as the week wore on displayed a growing awareness of what will be needed to cleanse the Augean stables. Crisford began by saying: “This is an isolated incident at the hands of a reckless person who has shown no respect for horse racing in this country. The vet’s assistant had no idea what he was injecting. He had a direct order from the trainer. Everybody knows that you can’t use steroids in England.
“I represent the owner’s best interests. Of course, one of my responsibilities is to oversee the trainers in Godolphin, but I cannot be involved in a day-to-day business about what kind of medication these trainers are using. I recommended the appointment of Mahmood and today that has proved to be very poor judgment.”
As the contagion spread, and his own indignation increased, Crisford talked of “flushing out corruption”. When all the facts are known, Godolphin will ask themselves how a trainer could import steroids from Dubai and illegally inject the winter favourite for the 1,000 Guineas without anyone in senior management knowing. The bloodletting could be intense.
“When his horses failed the tests for painkillers last year, we sat down with him and told him he had to keep his records maintained in a much more efficient manner,” Crisford said of Al Zarooni. “I had lengthy conversations with him about that but I’m afraid he’s betrayed the trust we put in him and he’s let everybody down, not only Godolphin but the British public, too.
“We’ll have nothing to do with him again and I have no sympathy for him. It will take a long time to recover from this, but Sheikh Mohammed will make sure everything is done and that the stable is 100 per cent clean before any horses get transferred to any other stables. I haven’t considered my position because I’ve been told to clear this mess up and that’s what I’ll be doing.”
Bittar says: “British racing should be really proud that there is zero tolerance here as far as anabolic steroids are concerned. I look to Australia and think it’s anomalous that they take such a view of athletes using performance-enhancing drugs but think it’s OK to use them on horses.”
This commendable policy showed British racing in a good light, but the final step would be the most risky: summoning Sheikh Mohammed himself to be interviewed about the cheating in his empire.
crisford said, the vets assistant had no idea what he was injecting,he had a direct order from the trainer
Some questions that crossed my mind about this episode. Why would a any trainer in his position do what he did?. Plenty of cash working for the biggest operation in the world in fantastic stables,with the chance of training the most expensive and highest quality race horses in the world.Do Godolphin trainers feel pressure from there employer too perform? or is this the done thing,something they are indeed expected too do?. and how many other trainers of say 2yrlds administer drugs to improve there growth rate with intent too be sold early in there career too the likes of the Godolphin operation for monetary gain? These questions bring a depressing picture in my mind that i dont think will be answered or indeed put right!
"Everyone's very disappointed that such a big outfit has been caught," says Rae Guest
Telling quote from Mr Guest, especially the use of the word "caught"
Telling quote from Mr Guest, especially the use of the word "caught"
Aberdonia - yes my thoughts exactly.
Also it seems to me that just possibly it is quite common for horses to receive the banned substances whilst staying in the pre - training yards and the trainers wait until the horse is in the clear before moving it to the main yard a couple of weeks before it`s next race.
Also it seems to me that just possibly it is quite common for horses to receive the banned substances whilst staying in the pre - training yards and the trainers wait until the horse is in the clear before moving it to the main yard a couple of weeks before it`s next race.
Quite a few trainers seem to be quoted about "getting caught" or similar, which would appear to indicate that the practice is widespread.
They're all at it - if they weren't Al Z would have been achieving stellar results
AT hit the nail on the head, its all about keeping up with the Joneses, as Rae Guest says how unfortunate for Al that he got caught?.
Al Zarooni should've sent his horses to the Welsh valleys for the winter, remarkable what that Welsh air does for horses?, could turn a pack mule into a Cheltenham festival or Royal Ascot contender within weeks.
Al Zarooni should've sent his horses to the Welsh valleys for the winter, remarkable what that Welsh air does for horses?, could turn a pack mule into a Cheltenham festival or Royal Ascot contender within weeks.
Bittar - “We asked Al Zarooni if he’d ever administered steroids before and he said he hasn’t.
Is this believable? Zarooni says he didn't know use of steroids was against British rules.
Yet it's pretty obvious he used them in Dubai (where they are allowed) .... and expects us to believe there has been a near 2 year hiatus since leaving Dubai and arriving in Britain where he hasn't used them until this spring apparently..... even though he claims he thought use of steroids was within the rules?
It doesn't add up. Zarooni taking the rap for others.
Is this believable? Zarooni says he didn't know use of steroids was against British rules.
Yet it's pretty obvious he used them in Dubai (where they are allowed) .... and expects us to believe there has been a near 2 year hiatus since leaving Dubai and arriving in Britain where he hasn't used them until this spring apparently..... even though he claims he thought use of steroids was within the rules?
It doesn't add up. Zarooni taking the rap for others.
As every day goes by more questions need to be asked. It's definitely 1.01 more then the trainer and a few others knew what was going on. A vet that wasn't a vet? A trainer that doesn't know how to inject a horse. Nah not buying it he done it off his own back.
What I found surprising was when Simon Crisford said Al Z gave 2 of his horses the injection when he knew the testers were coming. How did he know the testers were coming? Do they have a tip off?
^ If he didn't do it off his own back to impress his boss and win some big races, so others knew what was going on, but how high does it go ? (biggest surprise at the moment is that Crisford has still got his job !)
@Tell Del -- how high does it go ? (biggest surprise at the moment is that Crisford has still got his job !)
I doubt it goes higher than Al Zarooni, given his better results than SBS.
But really, Crisford should go because (a) it happened on his watch, and (b) he seems to have been unconcerned and uninquisitive about the different success rates at the two yards.
I doubt it goes higher than Al Zarooni, given his better results than SBS.
But really, Crisford should go because (a) it happened on his watch, and (b) he seems to have been unconcerned and uninquisitive about the different success rates at the two yards.
Since 2010 in GB,
Zarooni, 194 winners from 1101 runners (17.6%), for 44.23 LSP (+4.0%)
Bin Suroor, 234 from 1220 (19.2%) for 188.23 loss (-15.4%)
Bin Suroor has bigger percentage of winners, but Al Zarooni has bigger priced winners. Though the latter's profit was due to +120.48 pts in 2011 when had 20% strike rate.
If Al Zarooni was using steroids before now, they were working in 2011, but didn't in 2012 (or maybe he stopped or wasn't using them then)
Zarooni, 194 winners from 1101 runners (17.6%), for 44.23 LSP (+4.0%)
Bin Suroor, 234 from 1220 (19.2%) for 188.23 loss (-15.4%)
Bin Suroor has bigger percentage of winners, but Al Zarooni has bigger priced winners. Though the latter's profit was due to +120.48 pts in 2011 when had 20% strike rate.
If Al Zarooni was using steroids before now, they were working in 2011, but didn't in 2012 (or maybe he stopped or wasn't using them then)
As an Arab it is still a master servant relationship and could not have been done on his own.
This needed an inspection of all the stables under the same control of the master.
This needed an inspection of all the stables under the same control of the master.
Crisford should resign or if not Sheikh Mohammed must remove him for Godolphin to
regain any trust in the future.
Crisford must have been close to Zarooni at some point to recommend him for the trainers
job and knew his work methods.
Admitting that he knew Zarooni's horse medical records were not accurate should have sent alarm bells ringing.
I think in his heart of hearts he knew things were not right but because Zarooni was the up and coming trainer
for Godolphin turned a blind eye.
He had a job to do and let his employer down
regain any trust in the future.
Crisford must have been close to Zarooni at some point to recommend him for the trainers
job and knew his work methods.
Admitting that he knew Zarooni's horse medical records were not accurate should have sent alarm bells ringing.
I think in his heart of hearts he knew things were not right but because Zarooni was the up and coming trainer
for Godolphin turned a blind eye.
He had a job to do and let his employer down
The day Encke won the St Leger
For Godolphin it was a welcome Group One win in a below-par season.
"This is our sixth victory in the race and this one is right up with the best of those," said Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford.
"We didn't think we would win. We thought we could get a piece of the pie. However, Mikael rode him beautifully and gelled brilliantly with the horse."
Trainer Mahmood Al-Zarooni was a bit perplexed at winning the race on his third attempt with an outsider.
"The last two years I have come here with the favourites and not won and now I come with an outsider and I succeed. Very odd," he said.
For Godolphin it was a welcome Group One win in a below-par season.
"This is our sixth victory in the race and this one is right up with the best of those," said Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford.
"We didn't think we would win. We thought we could get a piece of the pie. However, Mikael rode him beautifully and gelled brilliantly with the horse."
Trainer Mahmood Al-Zarooni was a bit perplexed at winning the race on his third attempt with an outsider.
"The last two years I have come here with the favourites and not won and now I come with an outsider and I succeed. Very odd," he said.
Not 'very odd' now that we know what they were up to. 
the fact an old stager like opinion poll with his form in lights for all to see over 4 or 5 seasons was injected,must mean every horse in the yard injected
the fact an old stager like opinion poll with his form in lights for all to see over 4 or 5 seasons was injected,must mean every horse in the yard injected
most disapointed in timeform jims remarks that their results didnt seem to indicate they were getting more than their fair share of winners,
how does he no that there wernt 40 ,50 horses finishing 2nd,3rd,4th,5th,6th whatever deprieving small honest trainers of prizemoney
how does he no that there wernt 40 ,50 horses finishing 2nd,3rd,4th,5th,6th whatever deprieving small honest trainers of prizemoney
Can only presume Al Z's a crap trainer or the bloodstock is poor - as even on steroids his horses weren't outstanding. That or everyone's using drugs and he was just unlucky to get caught.
Godolphin will take their time to replace disgraced trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni
Godolphin are in no hurry to appoint a new trainer to take over at Moulton Paddocks according to Simon Crisford, the racing stable’s manager, on his return to Newmarket following crisis talks with Sheikh Mohammed in Dubai in the wake of the Mahmood Al Zarooni doping scandal.
By HOTSPUR (J A McGrath)
10:00PM BST 28 Apr 2013 telegraph.co.uk
British Horseracing Authority officials indicated that a new appointment needed to be made within the next 10 days for the yard to remain active as a licensed training stable, but Crisford said that was currently a low priority, as far as Godolphin was concerned.
“Sheikh Mohammed has ordered a lockdown at Moulton Paddocks and it doesn’t matter if those horses don’t race again this season. His priority is to see that it is clean of drugs. The testing will take place this week. There is no rush to appoint anybody to train there at present,” Crisford said on Sunday.
“As far as we could see, the yard became inoperative when Mahmood Al Zarooni was banned and his licence was cancelled.”
The embarrassment of the case, in which Al Zarooni administering outlawed anabolic steroids to 15 horses in his care as one of Godolphin’s two licensed trainers, has clearly outraged Sheikh Mohammed.
After meeting with Crisford, he reaffirmed his determination to re-establish Godolphin as a respected global racing stable. “What Sheikh Mohammed has stressed to me is the need to clean up this mess as quickly as possible,” Crisford said.
With over 135 horses residing in Moulton Paddocks now ticking over, but not racing, it will leave the Godolphin Newmarket operation running at half-speed. It is entirely possible that generations will miss their juvenile or Classic years because of the disruption caused by their former trainer’s flagrant breach of the rules of Racing.
The BHA testing of every horse will commence today. Anabolic steroids are forbidden in Britain – in or out of training – but they are legal in places such as Dubai and Australia, provided they are not in the horse’s system on raceday.
Paul Bittar, who has taken a lead on this issue in his role as chief executive of the BHA, has called for harmonisation throughout the racing world on the question of anabolics and other performance-enhancing drugs. It is an anomaly, for example, that some of the best sprinters from Australia can race at Royal Ascot, yet have been administered anabolics when out of training earlier in their careers.
It should be stressed that not all horses from Australia will have undergone such treatment prior to racing in Britain. And it raises certain issues in times when international racing has become widespread and popular.
Sajjhaa, Godolphin’s runner in Hong Kong on Sunday, could finish only fourth in the Audemar’s Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin, occupying a place in the frame behind the John Moore-trained winner Military Attack
Godolphin are in no hurry to appoint a new trainer to take over at Moulton Paddocks according to Simon Crisford, the racing stable’s manager, on his return to Newmarket following crisis talks with Sheikh Mohammed in Dubai in the wake of the Mahmood Al Zarooni doping scandal.
By HOTSPUR (J A McGrath)
10:00PM BST 28 Apr 2013 telegraph.co.uk
British Horseracing Authority officials indicated that a new appointment needed to be made within the next 10 days for the yard to remain active as a licensed training stable, but Crisford said that was currently a low priority, as far as Godolphin was concerned.
“Sheikh Mohammed has ordered a lockdown at Moulton Paddocks and it doesn’t matter if those horses don’t race again this season. His priority is to see that it is clean of drugs. The testing will take place this week. There is no rush to appoint anybody to train there at present,” Crisford said on Sunday.
“As far as we could see, the yard became inoperative when Mahmood Al Zarooni was banned and his licence was cancelled.”
The embarrassment of the case, in which Al Zarooni administering outlawed anabolic steroids to 15 horses in his care as one of Godolphin’s two licensed trainers, has clearly outraged Sheikh Mohammed.
After meeting with Crisford, he reaffirmed his determination to re-establish Godolphin as a respected global racing stable. “What Sheikh Mohammed has stressed to me is the need to clean up this mess as quickly as possible,” Crisford said.
With over 135 horses residing in Moulton Paddocks now ticking over, but not racing, it will leave the Godolphin Newmarket operation running at half-speed. It is entirely possible that generations will miss their juvenile or Classic years because of the disruption caused by their former trainer’s flagrant breach of the rules of Racing.
The BHA testing of every horse will commence today. Anabolic steroids are forbidden in Britain – in or out of training – but they are legal in places such as Dubai and Australia, provided they are not in the horse’s system on raceday.
Paul Bittar, who has taken a lead on this issue in his role as chief executive of the BHA, has called for harmonisation throughout the racing world on the question of anabolics and other performance-enhancing drugs. It is an anomaly, for example, that some of the best sprinters from Australia can race at Royal Ascot, yet have been administered anabolics when out of training earlier in their careers.
It should be stressed that not all horses from Australia will have undergone such treatment prior to racing in Britain. And it raises certain issues in times when international racing has become widespread and popular.
Sajjhaa, Godolphin’s runner in Hong Kong on Sunday, could finish only fourth in the Audemar’s Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin, occupying a place in the frame behind the John Moore-trained winner Military Attack
Why did non of the stable staff report the drug abuse too the Godolphin officials?There would have been a good reward in it for them? or maybe not?
On that point i think it best the investigating body should interview the stable staff(before the dubai mafia pay them off?)
The stable staff would not necessarily know what was going on.
As I said earlier, and much more importantly I think, Simon Crisford said in his interview that Al Zarooni gave 2 horses injections when he knew the inspectors were coming.
1)How did he know they were coming?
2)Do the trainers get a tip off?
3)Why didn't anyone ask Crisford how AZ knew they were coming?
If the BHA tip off trainers about an impending inspector visit then it destroys they whole idea of tests.
As I said earlier, and much more importantly I think, Simon Crisford said in his interview that Al Zarooni gave 2 horses injections when he knew the inspectors were coming.
1)How did he know they were coming?
2)Do the trainers get a tip off?
3)Why didn't anyone ask Crisford how AZ knew they were coming?
If the BHA tip off trainers about an impending inspector visit then it destroys they whole idea of tests.
Tip off gives trainers time to remove horses undergoing steroids to pre training yards. Everyone's happy - nothing to see here, move on.
But who was holding the horses while they were being Fed,injected?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/9018047/The-...
", the company's chairman, said parents were given the opportunity to pay upfront for the service, but many chose to use a finance agreement with Barclays. Once they have started paying and a statutory 14-day cooling-off period has ended, they cannot get out of this agreement, even if financial circumstances change".
", the company's chairman, said parents were given the opportunity to pay upfront for the service, but many chose to use a finance agreement with Barclays. Once they have started paying and a statutory 14-day cooling-off period has ended, they cannot get out of this agreement, even if financial circumstances change".
Dan Kelly @muffinmannhc
So it wasn't a coincidence that BHA uncover the biggest doping scandal 6 months after dept change http://wp.me/p1BOBt-3H
So it wasn't a coincidence that BHA uncover the biggest doping scandal 6 months after dept change http://wp.me/p1BOBt-3H
John Berry@JohnWathenBerry What comes across most strongly is Gerard Butler's candour, frankness & honesty. Would be v. sad if he gets rubbed out for this
Newmarket trainer Gerard Butler faces horse racing steroids inquiry
By Frank Keogh
bbc.co.uk
BBC Sport A second Newmarket trainer faces a British Horseracing Authority inquiry over giving steroids to racehorses.
Gerard Butler told the Independent several of his horses had treatment for injured joints, but he had been assured the substance did not breach rules.
He said he believed more than 100 Newmarket-based horses will have been given the same drug.
Godolphin trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni was given an eight-year ban on Thursday for using anabolic steroids on horses.
Anabolic steroids are banned in the UK, although allowed out of competition in countries including Australia, Dubai and the United States.
Butler told the BBC that the Independent story was correct and that the drug was recommended by a vet.
"Over the last few days I have been very uneasy about the Al Zarooni case and felt that I needed to let the general public know what has happened in my yard," he said.
"Now I would like only to concentrate on helping the BHA with their investigation."
The BHA said it would not be commenting on the story immediately, but might issue a brief statement later on Monday.
Butler, 47, was born in Ireland and picked up experience at top training yards around the world before settling at Egerton House Stables in Newmarket five years ago.
Unlike in the Al Zarooni case, Butler said the treatment came recommended by vets and he included the injections in his official medical records which were seen and returned by the BHA without comment.
He believes Sungate, the medication in question he used on veterinary advice to treat horses' joints, has been "misunderstood by many others".
Fellow Newmarket trainer John Berry offered his support for Butler on the social networking site Twitter.
"What comes across most strongly is Gerard Butler's candour, frankness & honesty. Would be v. sad if he gets rubbed out for this," he said.
The new revelations come on the day a BHA team begin drug testing the 150 remaining horses at Al Zarooni's Moulton Paddocks stable in Newmarket.
It was a BHA visit on 9 April, which later found 11 horses had tested positive for banned anabolic steroids, that led to the Dubai-born trainer being banned from racing for eight years. He also admitted giving a prohibited substance to four other horses.
Simon Crisford, a spokesman for the Godolphin operation owned by Sheikh Mohammed, said Al Zarooni would not work for the outfit again.
As British racing faces the biggest doping scandal in its history, a separate corruption hearing was due to start on Monday at BHA headquarters in London.
Newmarket-based jockey Eddie Ahern, plus former West Brom defender and racehorse owner Neil Clement, are among six people accused of breaching racing's rules.
The hearing, the latest in a succession of anti-corruption inquiries held by the BHA over the last few years, is scheduled to last until Friday 3 May
Cornelius Lysaght
BBC horse racing correspondent "The concern that the Godolphin doping case would open a can of worms seems to be coming true.
"That Gerard Butler has admitted that he's at the centre of an investigation into his use of anabolic steroids, on vets' advice, he emphasises, is one thing.
"But even more critical is the claim that more than 100 horses in Newmarket are receiving similar treatment, and that the BHA had inspected Butler's records, containing details of the steroids, and didn't say anything.
"The concern now is very straightforward: just how big is this can of worms?"
By Frank Keogh
bbc.co.uk
BBC Sport A second Newmarket trainer faces a British Horseracing Authority inquiry over giving steroids to racehorses.
Gerard Butler told the Independent several of his horses had treatment for injured joints, but he had been assured the substance did not breach rules.
He said he believed more than 100 Newmarket-based horses will have been given the same drug.
Godolphin trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni was given an eight-year ban on Thursday for using anabolic steroids on horses.
Anabolic steroids are banned in the UK, although allowed out of competition in countries including Australia, Dubai and the United States.
Butler told the BBC that the Independent story was correct and that the drug was recommended by a vet.
"Over the last few days I have been very uneasy about the Al Zarooni case and felt that I needed to let the general public know what has happened in my yard," he said.
"Now I would like only to concentrate on helping the BHA with their investigation."
The BHA said it would not be commenting on the story immediately, but might issue a brief statement later on Monday.
Butler, 47, was born in Ireland and picked up experience at top training yards around the world before settling at Egerton House Stables in Newmarket five years ago.
Unlike in the Al Zarooni case, Butler said the treatment came recommended by vets and he included the injections in his official medical records which were seen and returned by the BHA without comment.
He believes Sungate, the medication in question he used on veterinary advice to treat horses' joints, has been "misunderstood by many others".
Fellow Newmarket trainer John Berry offered his support for Butler on the social networking site Twitter.
"What comes across most strongly is Gerard Butler's candour, frankness & honesty. Would be v. sad if he gets rubbed out for this," he said.
The new revelations come on the day a BHA team begin drug testing the 150 remaining horses at Al Zarooni's Moulton Paddocks stable in Newmarket.
It was a BHA visit on 9 April, which later found 11 horses had tested positive for banned anabolic steroids, that led to the Dubai-born trainer being banned from racing for eight years. He also admitted giving a prohibited substance to four other horses.
Simon Crisford, a spokesman for the Godolphin operation owned by Sheikh Mohammed, said Al Zarooni would not work for the outfit again.
As British racing faces the biggest doping scandal in its history, a separate corruption hearing was due to start on Monday at BHA headquarters in London.
Newmarket-based jockey Eddie Ahern, plus former West Brom defender and racehorse owner Neil Clement, are among six people accused of breaching racing's rules.
The hearing, the latest in a succession of anti-corruption inquiries held by the BHA over the last few years, is scheduled to last until Friday 3 May
Cornelius Lysaght
BBC horse racing correspondent "The concern that the Godolphin doping case would open a can of worms seems to be coming true.
"That Gerard Butler has admitted that he's at the centre of an investigation into his use of anabolic steroids, on vets' advice, he emphasises, is one thing.
"But even more critical is the claim that more than 100 horses in Newmarket are receiving similar treatment, and that the BHA had inspected Butler's records, containing details of the steroids, and didn't say anything.
"The concern now is very straightforward: just how big is this can of worms?"
Did Simon Crisford write it Sounds more like 'Yo Brits behave yourselfs or else'
Horseracing has played a major role in developing mutual relations between the UAE and UK, says report
Apr 29, 2013 - 11:28 http://wam.org.ae/servlet/Satellite?c=WamLocEnews&cid=1290004435884&p=1135099400295&pagename=WAM%2FWamLocEnews%2FW-T-LEN-FullNews
WAM ABU DHABI: While it is difficult to gauge the exact contribution the Maktoum family has made to British sport by its investment in horseracing, it is almost impossible not to take into account its importance, according to a report in a local paper Monday.
"Horses have always held great interest for the Maktoums, and there is no denying that the sport has played a major role in developing mutual relations between the UAE and UK a relationship that has significantly helped boost investment and cooperation between the two friendly countries. To find the catalyst to this historical association of sporting minds, one need look no further than a race meeting that took place at Newmarket racecourse on May 5, 1967," the report "UAE Kay player behind British sports scene" said.
It was the English 2,000 Guineas, one of the most prestigious races for three-year-old horses, which was attended by Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , and Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, during the time when Sheikh Mohammad was studying at the Bell Language School in Cambridge, the Gulf News' Racing '&' Special Features Wrier Leslie Wilson said in the report.
"For the record, the race was won by a horse called Royal Palace, ridden by Gary Moore, but, more significantly, what Shaikh Mohammad and Shaikh Hamdan witnessed on the day would consume their interest and in due course result in both brothers building historic racing empires that would extend across the UK and the rest of the world." "The historic home of racing, Newmarket, houses the now famous Godolphin Stables created by Sheikh Mohammad and his Darley Stud thoroughbred management and breeding operation, which provide employment for more than 300 people. Darley has its headquarters at Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket and, together with Gainborough Stud, provide jobs and revenue for hundreds of industry people while helping raise the profile of the breeding and horse management side of the sport," the report added.
Sheikh Hamdan's involvement in horseracing in the UK is no less significant. Over the years, he has invested heavily in both racing and breeding, where he has acquired major operations in England and Ireland. Among the eight stud farms that he owns worldwide under the Shadwell banner, six are based in England and his Derrinstown Stud is in County Kildare, Ireland.
Citing another validation of Sheikh Hamdan's commitment to social welfare and community development, it said Shadwell Estate Company Limited supports several charities in the UK, with the foremost being the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA), who have been a huge beneficiary of their generosity.
Under the patronage of his racing stable, Sheikh Mohammad sponsors the annual Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards, which celebrate the vital role of stud and stable staff around the country in making racing such a popular sport. Organised by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), in conjunction with the Racing Post, the awards offer ?120,000 in prize money. They are the only one of their kind in the sport, it noted.
Given the sheer scale and passion of their commitment, it's hard to imagine what the sport of horseracing in the UK would have been like without the patronage of Shaikh Mohammad and Sheikh Hamdan, the Gulf concluded.
Sounds more like 'Yo Brits behave yourselfs or else'Horseracing has played a major role in developing mutual relations between the UAE and UK, says report
Apr 29, 2013 - 11:28 http://wam.org.ae/servlet/Satellite?c=WamLocEnews&cid=1290004435884&p=1135099400295&pagename=WAM%2FWamLocEnews%2FW-T-LEN-FullNews
WAM ABU DHABI: While it is difficult to gauge the exact contribution the Maktoum family has made to British sport by its investment in horseracing, it is almost impossible not to take into account its importance, according to a report in a local paper Monday.
"Horses have always held great interest for the Maktoums, and there is no denying that the sport has played a major role in developing mutual relations between the UAE and UK a relationship that has significantly helped boost investment and cooperation between the two friendly countries. To find the catalyst to this historical association of sporting minds, one need look no further than a race meeting that took place at Newmarket racecourse on May 5, 1967," the report "UAE Kay player behind British sports scene" said.
It was the English 2,000 Guineas, one of the most prestigious races for three-year-old horses, which was attended by Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , and Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, during the time when Sheikh Mohammad was studying at the Bell Language School in Cambridge, the Gulf News' Racing '&' Special Features Wrier Leslie Wilson said in the report.
"For the record, the race was won by a horse called Royal Palace, ridden by Gary Moore, but, more significantly, what Shaikh Mohammad and Shaikh Hamdan witnessed on the day would consume their interest and in due course result in both brothers building historic racing empires that would extend across the UK and the rest of the world." "The historic home of racing, Newmarket, houses the now famous Godolphin Stables created by Sheikh Mohammad and his Darley Stud thoroughbred management and breeding operation, which provide employment for more than 300 people. Darley has its headquarters at Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket and, together with Gainborough Stud, provide jobs and revenue for hundreds of industry people while helping raise the profile of the breeding and horse management side of the sport," the report added.
Sheikh Hamdan's involvement in horseracing in the UK is no less significant. Over the years, he has invested heavily in both racing and breeding, where he has acquired major operations in England and Ireland. Among the eight stud farms that he owns worldwide under the Shadwell banner, six are based in England and his Derrinstown Stud is in County Kildare, Ireland.
Citing another validation of Sheikh Hamdan's commitment to social welfare and community development, it said Shadwell Estate Company Limited supports several charities in the UK, with the foremost being the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA), who have been a huge beneficiary of their generosity.
Under the patronage of his racing stable, Sheikh Mohammad sponsors the annual Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards, which celebrate the vital role of stud and stable staff around the country in making racing such a popular sport. Organised by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), in conjunction with the Racing Post, the awards offer ?120,000 in prize money. They are the only one of their kind in the sport, it noted.
Given the sheer scale and passion of their commitment, it's hard to imagine what the sport of horseracing in the UK would have been like without the patronage of Shaikh Mohammad and Sheikh Hamdan, the Gulf concluded.
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