ENGLISH TEXTS
group one winner. The decision was made, and Ruling Court was the choice of the number one rider. The rest they say is history. He broke well, moved up the outside of the favorite Field of Gold, quickened going into the famous Rowley Mile dip and battled with stable mate Shadow of Light. 50 yards before the finish line Buick’ s choice proved correct as his race fitness kicked in and he pulled clear and held on from the fast finish favorite to win by half a length. He was heroic and the moment, historic. Looking back on Friday the 2 nd, Saturday the 3 rd and Sunday the 4 th, you would think Godolphin had the horses mapped out for producing an unforgettable weekend. It all began with the unbeaten filly; Good Cheer in the Kentucky Oaks on the Friday afternoon. Ruling Court then ruled Britannia and set up a colt’ s classic double with Sovereignty stampeding through the slop to win Sheik Mohammed’ s first Kentucky Derby. Leaving what some might say the best performance until last, Desert Flower unanimously put herself on top of the pedistool as the best filly in Europe by winning the 1,000 Guineas and taking her record to five out of five. It was a momentous achievement to do what they did over the course of those three days. To be the first trainer jockey combo in 20 years to do the 2,000 and 1,000 double, and the
first owner since Calumut Farms in 1952 to do the Kentucky Derby and Oaks double is unprecedented. Ruling court showcased not just his authority over that mile but his owners worldwide dominance and influence across racing. It’ ll be a weekend that’ ll go down in racing history and I know that if I ever see Russel Crow I’ ll tell him of this weekend and that I was certainly entertained.
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Par Jocelyn de Moubray
GROUPE 1 SIRES: THE EXCEPTION RATHER THAN THE RULE
Racing is a particularly tough sport because it is so difficult to win.
In other sports the leading players or teams are able to dominate, Roger Federer won 86 % of his matches in Grand Slam tournaments, Jannik Sinner is running at around 79 %, Paris St Germain has won 76 % of its matches in Ligue 1 in 2024- 2025 and there are many similar success rates in top level sports. However, the most successful jockeys and trainers only win 20 % of the Group and Listed races in which they compete, and even Francis Graffard, currently on a remarkable winning streak which cannot possibly last, has lost 64 % of the Group and Listed races in which he has had runners this year. For stallions, the bar is set higher still. Every year around 20,000 foals are born in Europe and yet for many of those involved the dream, if not exactly the plan, is to try to win a Group 1. There are eighty five Group 1 races a year in Europe, more than there used to be and, in all probability, more than there should be, and yet they are still hard to win. Looking at stallions by Group 1 wins in Europe alone in the modern era, the last fifty years, Coolmore’ s two champions Galileo and Sadler’ s Wells stand clear above all of their contemporaries and those who have followed. Galileo could still have more to come but he stands currently at 81 European Group 1 winners and 172 Group 1 placed horses from his 2,588 European foals, while Sadler’ s Wells’ final tally was 63 Group 1 winners and 147 Group 1 performers from 2,180 foals, respectively 3.1 % and 2.9 % European Group 1 winners to foals while both are at 6.7 % Group 1 placed horses to foals. These statistics are remarkable compared with every other stallion, but it may appear strange to give such merit to a stallion which hits the jackpot with one of every thirty three foals. Thorough-
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