John Ferguson ‘honoured’ to be appointed chief executive and racing manager of Godolphin

John Ferguson will hand in his training licence at the end of April 2016 to take up a new role with Godolphin.

John Ferguson, centre left, alongside Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Prime Minister and Vice President of the  UAE, and Ruler of Dubai. Randi Sokoloff / The National
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John Ferguson has pledged to take Godolphin back to the top after he was formally appointed chief executive and racing manager to a streamlined operation on Tuesday.

Since the departure of Simon Crisford as the long-standing racing manager in February last year, Ferguson has played an increasingly wider role than his position as bloodstock advisor to founder Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai had suggested.

Godolphin has continually evolved since Mahmood Al Zarooni left in disgrace in 2013 and Ferguson’s appointment is the latest in a long-line of re-positioning that has taken place.

“When you have 5,000 horses worldwide and 1,500 staff you do not make knee-jerk reactions,” Ferguson said about his appointment on Tuesday.

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“I have had an influence in the direction of Godolphin as bloodstock advisor to Sheikh Mohammed over the past few years, as have other excellent people within the organisation and in Darley and they will continue to do so.

“Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid is always innovating and trying to make things better and this is just a natural evolution.”

Ferguson will sit at the head of the board of directors at Godolphin, and Hugh Anderson will continue as the managing director of the Godolphin Management Company.

Ferguson will hand in his National Hunt trainers’ licence at the end of season in April and the jumps horses in his string that are considered suitable for racing on the Flat will be absorbed by Charlie Appleby at his Moulton Paddocks stable in Newmarket.

A decision on the home of the National Hunt horses that are not considered suitable will be made at a later date and all the staff at his Bloomfields operation will be invited to work for Godolphin and share in the proposed success of the Dubai-based organisation.

“I need to focus all of my time on Godolphin,” Ferguson said about turning his back on training. “I feel that Sheikh Mohammed deserves that. We are sad but excited here at Bloomfields, and excited about the future.”

Darley, the breeding arm of Sheikh Mohammed’s equine empire, will now be absorbed in to Godolphin. Godolphin have sizeable operations not only in Dubai, but in Australia, United States, France, Japan, Ireland and England and Ferguson was looking forward to implementing a common strategy.

“It makes sense that we are one team,” Ferguson added.

“What we need is to pull everything together and get everybody working in the right direction towards maximise the potential of every horse.”

Following the investigation by Lord Stevens, the former Metropolitan Police chief commissioner in Britain, in 2013 it was recommended that the role of racing manager was done away with.

Having played a pivotal role following the departure of Al Zarooni, Crisford left Godolphin in February last year and has since taken up a training licence in Newmarket.

“Fundamentally we need somebody focused on the racehorse and anything that improves communication for Sheikh Mohammed and the organisation can only be a good thing,” Ferguson said.

Since Crisford’s departure Godolphin have cancelled the retainer they had with jockey Silvestre de Sousa.

Fellow retained jockey Mickael Barzalona has relocated to France and last November James Doyle and William Buick were recruited to ride for the operation worldwide.

In Australia long-standing Godolphin jockey Kerrin McEvoy has left to ride freelance and was replaced by James McDonald, while John O’Shea was appointed principal trainer there last year.

This summer in Britain Godolphin changed their strategy by spreading more and more horses around stables such as those run by Newmarket trainers John Gosden and Ed Walker, as well as Richard Fahey based in the north of the country.

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