Godolphin believe Poet’s Voice is well versed for Champion Stakes
Money may not buy success, as Sheikh Mohammed has found out in over 30 years as one of the main players in world Flat racing, but it helps.
When the penny finally dropped with Poet’s Voice, and he went from headstrong rebel to team player, Godolphin laid out £20,000 for a late entry to the Group One Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot last month. It proved to be money well spent – well, more like loaned – as the colt put himself into the big league when he beat Rip Van Winkle by a nose.
Now Poet’s Voice bids for a second successive Group One victory in the Emirates Airline Champion Stakes at Newmarket and again Godolphin have gone the better-late-than-never route, writing a cheque for £30,000 to get a seat at the big game.
The key has been teaching Poet’s Voice to settle in his races and Frankie Dettori now firmly believes that he has gone from being the joker in the Godolphin pack to their ace in the hole. "Now Poet's Voice has got his head right, he's very good,” he said. “He's a little bit like his grandfather, Dubai Millennium, who didn't settle early in his career but eventually he started to play ball the same as this fellow. It’s a very tough race and obviously the trip is the question mark, but this is the time to try him at it.
"Now he settles he has every chance of staying. We didn't mess about in the QEII, we went some serious fractions and it was an uphill finish so if he can do that then the bridge is not that far."
How far Poet’s Voice may yet go will be largely determined by his run in the Champion as Simon Crisford, racing manager for Godolphin, explained. "We need to find out whether Poet’s Voice stays a mile-and-a-quarter because he is remaining in training next year. His performance on Saturday will give us a much clearer picture as to what type of campaign to give him in 2010.
"He is very switched off at the moment and that will count in his favour. He is bred to go a mile-and-a-quarter so there is no reason why he shouldn’t get the distance. If he is good enough, I don’t think that the trip will be a problem.
"He had to use up a huge amount of energy to produce his challenge at Ascot and he maintained his effort all the way to the wire - it demanded extra stamina and courage.”
Godolphin has yet to come up with a horse who has been up to the demands of the Champion Stakes and it has not been for the want of trying. "We’ve never won the Champion Stakes and we’d love to win it,” Crisford said. “Halling was second to Bosra Sham in an epic dual in 1996, but there’s an empty place waiting in our trophy cabinet."
There would also be a spot for the trophy that goes to the winner of the Dewhurst Stakes, another race that Godolphin has yet to win. In most years Saamidd, the winner of the Group Two Champagne Stakes, would be a main pick. But this is looking like a vintage renewal
Saamidd puts his unbeaten record on the line, after two emphatic wins over seven furlongs, when he takes on the unbeaten pair of Frankel, who posted a 10-length victory in the Group Two Royal Lodge Stakes at Ascot, and Dream Ahead, the winner of the Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes.
“It’s a massive race,” Crisford said. “He’s been chalked up as the third favourite and I would imagine that’s a realistic slot for him to be because he’s taking on two fantastic colts.
“He’s still got plenty to prove, he doesn’t do a huge amount in the mornings – he’s a little bit lazy – which often is a good thing. He seems well in himself but he’s going to have to step up further on what he’s done so far to beat Frankel and Dream Ahead.”
If he did, Saamidd would become the dream horse that money could not buy.
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