When Mawj held on to win the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket last month, elation was coupled with palpable relief for trainer, Saeed bin Suroor and jockey Oisin Murphy.
Both are looking to reclaim their pre-eminent positions in the sport, Bin Suroor as a four-time former champion trainer in England and, Murphy back after a 14-month ban, a three-time leading rider. The hard fought win over the Rowley Mile hints at better times ahead.
It was Bin Suroor’s first English Classic success for 14 years a period in which, having carried all before him for two decades, he has been eclipsed by Godolphin’s other trainer in Britain, Charlie Appleby.
Bin Suroor, 56, is philosophical enough to accept the swings of fortune and fate that accompany sport at the highest level.
More importantly, as Godolphin’s longest serving trainer, he knows he retains the confidence and support of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai. “It was just like the old days when we had all the stars,” Bin Suroor said of the Guineas triumph. “The Boss was very happy!”
Murphy’s fall from grace was rather more self-inflicted for a likeable young man who for years has had to carry the mantle of the next Frankie Dettori.
Having only returned to the saddle in February, winning on Mawj was confirmation that he has lost none of his considerable swashbuckling edge. “It’s beyond my wildest dreams,” the emotional Irishman said.
Trainer, jockey and horse will be reunited next week at Royal Ascot, where Mawj will be the Stanley House flag bearer in the Coronation Stakes on Friday.
It is a race Godolphin has never won and set to be a high class renewal, but Bin Suroor doesn’t see why his "tiny filly with a big heart" will not again prevail. “It will be a very tough race but we will be there,” he said.
“She is the one star in the stables. She has given everyone such a big boost. It is brilliant. It means so much to me. She has everything. She is easy to train. She is a very tough filly who never gives up.
“Royal Ascot excites me, big time. I have been champion trainer there five times. It is my favourite racetrack. People love going there. It is huge in the racing world.
“We are looking forward to running there. We have maybe two in the Royal Hunt Cup and a few other options.
“I am always optimistic about the future. Very positive. You have to be very patient. This game is very tough. It is hard to find a good one. When you do it is so good for everyone.”
He has nothing but praise for Murphy. “He is one of the best in the world. I believed in this man from day one before anybody really knew about him or who he was. I support him. I met him and liked the way he rides. People like him. He is so talented.”
That takes the conversation on to Dettori with whom Bin Suroor has worked for 30 years. “It is sad he is retiring. But it is good that he is retiring when he is on top. Frankie is a star. Everybody in the world wants to be like Frankie. The public loves him around the world.
“He will be very difficult to replace. There are very good jockeys worldwide but Frankie makes racing exciting. People come to see racing to see Frankie and because of Frankie.”
Nor, in Bin Suroor’s opinion, will the sport ever see another Sheikh Mohammed.
“Nobody has done anything like it in the past and nobody will do it in the future,” he said. “No way. He has been in horse racing worldwide for 50 years. He supports the sport big time in America, Japan. Europe, Australia, England, Dubai. He loves it. It is in his blood.
“The Boss is very special. He is a great man. He understands the sport so well. Win or lose, he smiles. There is always the next time. He knows that horses are not machines.”
They first met in 1992 in Dubai. Three years later Sheikh Mohammed set him up in Newmarket. For the best part of 15 years together they cut an all blue swathe through the sport. Major races fell to him almost as a matter of routine; 12 Classics in all the last of which before Mawj, was Mastery in the 2009 St Leger.
In nine years he was champion trainer on four occasions. The horses he sent out read like a ‘Who’s Who’ of racing from around the turn of the century with the likes of Dubai Millennium, Daylami, Mark of Esteem and Halling as well as well as the Derby winner Lammtarra. “It was magical,” Bin Suroor said. “The horses were just superb.”
In recent times it is Appleby, who started life as Bin Suroor’s travelling head lad and who he holds in high esteem who has held the upper hand. “He is my friend I like him he is a very nice man,” he continued. “He has super horses, a different class to anything anywhere in the world.”
Bin Suroor, a former policeman, was born in Dubai in 1966. At the age of 23 he became a trainer mainly looking after horses for family and friends. His exploits came to the attention of Sheikh Mohammed.
“He asked people, ‘Who is this guy?,’ Bin Suroor explained. “He wanted to know more. Then one day he asked me to train for him. I said, ‘Yes.’ From that moment in early 1993 my life changed.
“In the old days when Sheikh Mohammed came here, he would come round at evening stables. I would say, ‘Sir, this is a six-time Group 1 winner, this is a five-time Group 1 winner. When there was a Group 2 we didn’t show the horse to him. It was not that important to us.
“Now we have another Classic. It is so good.”
But he will not get carried away. “I understand this life. Horses teach you how to be patient. If there is something wrong with a horse you have to wait, sometimes a year or even two to look after them. You learn a lot from horses. My ambition is as strong as ever.”
