• Home
• /
• Sports
• /
• Horse Racing

Dubai's Godolphin bring up 200 winners this season

Dubai - Chanting triumphed in the Class 1 Handicap and an hour later, Golwen won the Illawara Turf Club Benchmark 64 Handicap at the Kembla Grange Racecourse in New South Wales

Godolphin notched a couple of victories including a Class 1 Handicap in horse races held in Australia.
The Dubai-based racing operation, owned by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, two races to rack up 200 wins worldwide this season.
Chanting triumphed in the Class 1 Handicap and an hour later, Golwen won the Illawara Turf Club Benchmark 64 Handicap at the Kembla Grange Racecourse in New South Wales.
Both winners were saddled by James Cummings, Godolphin's head trainer in Australia.
As has been the norm during this time, racing was held behind closed doors with only essential personnel at the racetrack.
Chanting, the three-year-old filly from Epaulette, won the six-furlong affair on turf, for her second victory in six starts. Her maiden winner had come in the Hungerford Hill Metro & Prov Maiden Plate at Newcastle in February.
And while on that occasion, she won by one and a half lengths, under Joshua Parr, she had a fight on her hands before she nicked it by a short-head over Art Cadeau. Kathy O'Hara was on the mount this time.
Meanwhile, Golwen, the three-year-old son of Lonhro, beat Renalot by a neck to clinch the seven-furlong contest. The ride of Koby Jennings, Golwen won his second race in eight starts with his maiden winner too coming at Kembla Grange in October last year.
Godolphin now have 201 winners from 1,185 runners this season.
Meanwhile, Godolphin will be laying the most important step on Kementari's comeback in the Group 3 BRC Sprint, with their eyes firmly stuck on the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap next month.
Kementari, the five-year-old son of Lonhro, is one of 10 runners in the field and will break from Gate 8 under Ryan Maloney.
Kementari has four wins from 21 starts with his latest runs being third-place finishes in Group 3 company in March and April at Rosehill and Randwick respectively.
Kementari, who returned to training earlier this year following a break since March 2019, is preparing for the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap to be held at the Eagle Farm Racecourse in Brisbane on June 6.
"When it became clear that he wasn't a stallion proposition, I was asked if I wanted him back. I didn't hesitate. I said 'you bet I do'. He's shown great enthusiasm and desire. I didn't expect anything less from him," said Cummings.
"We've been able to measure his progress against his stablemates and with what he's been doing in his training and all the messages are that he is keeping the ship on course," he added.
james@khaleejtimes.com