Godolphin is top owner in France in 2018

7 January 2019

Godolphin is top owner in France in 2018

Photo scoopdyga.com

The 2018 owners rankings in France are pretty clear. The Godolphin stable of Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum dominates with a total of €5.6m in earnings, plus around €200,000 in owners’ premiums, as most of the horses in this team are traditionally bred abroad and are not assimilated French.

This is also the case for Khalid Abdullah, who is in second place with €3.5m and less than €3,000 in bonuses! Of course, for the Saudi Prince's team, the winner of the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Gr1) Enable made most of this result since the €2.8m allotted to the Arc winner represent 83% of the overall prizemoney forked in by the stable in France over the whole year.

Third place went to Wertheimer & Frère with €2.3m, plus €976,884 in Owners' premiums, thanks to a system of assimilation of foals bred outside France but imported from an early age. We also note that all the Wertheimers’ horses are trained in France, and with 101 starters, the blue and white silks are the second supplier of racing horses in the French program behind Gérard Augustin-Normand and his 150 representatives. Wertheimer & Frère also ranks third in number of races run with 364 starts, just behind the 638 boasted by Gérard Augustin-Normand, himself ahead of the Cédric Boutin Stable, whose 79 horses ran a total of 729 times in 2018. This represents an average of 9 races per year and per horse, ie one out every six weeks or so!

The best horse Godolphin stables, French antenna and antenna combined, raced in France in 2018 is Cloth of Stars. He has made nearly €695,000 without ever winning a race! He has finished five times in the frame at the top level, however, and we are delighted to see him stay in France as a sire, now. Enable is, as we have seen, the best representative of Khalid Abdullah while for the Wertheimers, 3yo filly Polydream has accumulated the most earnings in 2018 in four outings only but with two wins including the LARC Prix Maurice de Gheest (Gr1). She’s made nearly €330 000 last season, including bonuses.

For Gerard Augustin-Normand, Neufbosc is the richest with around €325,000, mostly thanks to his second place in the Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris (Gr1).

We also note that the first four owners in France are also the ones that have won the most maiden races on France Galop racecourses. Between them, they count 37 victories for an available program of 200 events, or 19%. On the other hand, these owners “only” have six of the twenty highest-ratings holders. Same result if we take into account the only earnings.

While browsing the list of the best horses of the 2018 season in France, we also note that three of the first four are females, with the first two of the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, and the splendid Laurens, winner of the Coolmore Prix Saint -Alary and Prix de Diane Longines. Finally, thirteen of the twenty best horses were trained in France, and three of the top ten were born in France: Recoletos (best rating of the year among the French), Laurens and Holdthasigreen.