When modern racing fans think of the powerful owner/breeder operation Godolphin, the first trainer who likely springs to mind is Newmarket-based, Charlie Appleby. However, it wasn’t always this way, and when Godolphin first exploded onto the British racing scene in the 1990s, the man behind many of their greatest success stories – both in Britain and on the global stage – was a certain Saeed bin Suroor.
During a golden period for the boys in blue, Suroor won just about all that there was to win in the flat racing world before being joined in the Godolphin training ranks – first by the disgraced Mahmood Al Zarooni and latterly by Charlie Appleby. That splitting of resources led to a waning of Suroor’s powers, but he remains a big player on the British Racing scene and is fully capable of registering a headline-grabbing success or two – as evidenced by the 2,000 Guineas triumph of star filly Mawj in 2023.
Suroor may have been usurped by his former travelling head lad as the main powerhouse, but he has still contributed more than most to the success of the Godolphin operation over the years.
From the Police Force to the Gallops
Born in Dubai on the 10th of October, 1966, Saeed bin Suroor was surrounded by horses from a young age thanks to his family’s love of the animals and the sport. Despite that, it was initially a career in law enforcement which beckoned as Saeed joined the Dubai Police Force.
Whilst the Police Force may have occupied much of Saeed’s time, he remained involved with horses, acting as a trainer for runners owned by friends and family alongside his day job. Those efforts then caught the eye of Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed, and it wasn’t long until the path of Saeed’s life was set.
In 1992, Sheikh Mohammed sent a string of 30 horses to Saeed and was sufficiently impressed to appoint the 26-year-old as the number one trainer for the Godolphin operation three years later in 1995. It was a brave decision given bin Suroor’s relative inexperience on the Group 1 racing stage, but one which would yield spectacular results.
Top Level Success All Around the World
Saeed registered a mightily impressive eight British Group 1 successes during his debut season of 1995, as his talent and famous work ethic – rising at 3:30 am 7 days a week, all year round – reaped immediate rewards. Including amongst that octet of triumphs was a famous Classic double at Epsom, as Moonshell grabbed the Oaks, and Lammtarra produced a sizzling turn of foot to land the Derby. As far as starts go, Saeed was off to a flyer!
Fast forward to 2023, and Saeed now splits his season between his Newmarket base and spending time at the Al Quoz Stables in Dubai and continues to claim the biggest prizes on the planet – albeit at not quite the relentless rate as in years gone by. Nevertheless, following almost 30 years in the training game, Saeed bin Suroor has compiled a list of achievements of which any trainer would be proud. Selected highlights include:
- One Epsom Derby Win – Lammtarra (1995)
- Two Epsom Oaks Wins – Moonshell (1995), Kazzia (2002)
- Two 2,000 Guineas Wins – Mark of Esteem (1996), Island Sands (1999)
- Three 1,000 Guineas Wins – Cape Verdi (1998), Kazzia (2002), Mawj (2023)
- Five St Leger Wins – Classic Cliché (1995), Nedawi (1998), Mutafaweq (1999), Rule of Law (2004), Mastery (2009)
- Three Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe Wins – Lammtarra (1995), Sakhee (2001), Marienbard (2002)
- Nine Dubai World Cup Wins – Almutawakel (1999), Dubai Millennium (2000), Street Cry (2002), Moon Ballad (2003), Elecrocutionist (2006), African Story (2014), Prince Bishop (2015), Thunder Snow (2018, 2019)
- Four British Champion Trainer Titles – 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004
All told, Godolphin’s longest-serving trainer has amassed over 2,000 wins, including 194 Group 1 events spread over 12 different countries, 68 of which have come in the UK – including the full set of British Classics. As well as proving a huge success on British shores, Saeed is a legend in his homeland, with those nine Dubai World Cup victories making him the most successful trainer in the history of his nation’s greatest race.
Greatest Horses
A list of Saeed bin Suroor’s most talented performers reads like a who’s who of mid-90s to early 2000s brilliance. Nevertheless, there are those runners who have shone brightest amongst this echelon of stars, with the following five names, in particular, standing out from the illustrious crowd.
Dubai Millennium: Peak Official Rating – 136
There have been many Godolphin greats over the years, but this son of Seeking The Gold continues to set the standard against which all others are measured. The apple of Sheikh Mohammed’s eye suffered just the one blip in his eight-race career – when he failed to handle the Epsom undulations – but was otherwise imperious.
Highlights of that near-perfect career included Group 1 successes in the Jacque Le Marois, the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, and a devastating six-length romp in the 2000 edition of the Dubai World Cup. His death due to grass sickness at just five years of age provided a devastating blow to the Godolphin operation, but his legacy lives on through his super-sire son, Dubawi.
Daylami: Peak Official Rating – 135
This beautiful grey colt by Doyoun, may not quite have hit the heights of Dubai Millennium in terms of peak official rating, but came out on top when measured by Group 1 wins. Successful seven times at the highest level, his victories included the Coral-Eclipse, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the Coronation Cup, and the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Sakhee: Peak Official Rating – 133
One of the most talented late-bloomers from the Godolphin yard of the early 2000s, Sakhee had to wait until his four-year-old campaign to grab a first Group 1 success – having come closest at three when second to Sinndar in the Epsom Derby. Breaking his top-level duck with a blistering seven-length rout of the field in the Juddmonte International, he followed up with an equally jaw-dropping display in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Lammtarra: Peak Official Rating – 130
Sired by the brilliant Triple Crown winner Nijinsky, Lammtarra was the horse who first propelled Saeed bin Suroor into the training stratosphere. His career at the track was brief but perfect, with four wins from as many starts. Too good for his rivals in the Epsom Derby, he followed up with a last-gasp success in the King George before his finest hour came when fending off all-comers under Frankie Dettori in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Fantastic Light: Peak Official Rating – 130
Having won six of 11 starts for Sir Michael Stoute, including the Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes, Fantastic Light had shown plenty of ability before his switch to bin Suroor in the year 2000. However, it was under Saeed’s guidance that this tough son of Rahy blossomed into a global superstar, posting Group 1 successes in the Hong Kong Cup, the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, the Irish Champion Stakes, and the Breeders’ Cup Turf.