Godolphin Secures Record 18th British Owners’ Title After International Treble

Godolphin’s horses wearing the royal blue silks delivered a remarkable performance across two continents, winning three Group 1 races and clinching a record‑extending 18th British Owners’ Championship.

A Historic Triple Across Continents

The day began in Sydney at Royal Randwick where the A$20 million Everest saw Godolphin homebred Tempted defeat Hong Kong’s sprinting star Ka Ying Rising, which had enjoyed 21 straight victories. Trained by Melbourne Cup‑winner Ciaron Maher and ridden by Chad Schofield, Tempted held off the favourite to give Godolphin its first Everest win, a reminder that even the longest streaks can be broken once the gates open.

Hours later the focus shifted to Ascot. Talk Of New York, prepared by Charlie Appleby and guided by William Buick, captured the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. Shortly after, Ombudsman, trained by John and Thady Gosden, swept past Calandagan in the Champion Stakes. Buick, who has been Godolphin’s retained jockey since 2015, then completed a treble aboard Fifth Column in the Balmoral Handicap.

These three victories at British Champions Day, two of them at the highest level, were added to the Everest triumph before the celebrations ended.

Securing the 18th British Owners’ Title

The most lasting prize of the afternoon was the Owners’ Championship itself. Since 2015 Britain’s Flat owners’ title has been decided on prize money earned from May 2 to October 17. During the season Godolphin amassed £6.61 million from 99 winners and 328 runners, securing the championship for a record‑extending 18th time.

Hugh Anderson, Godolphin’s Managing Director for the UK and Dubai, reflected on the achievement at Ascot: “Somebody’s already said to me that this may be Godolphin’s best ever day of racing,” he said, adding that the afternoon would rank among the operation’s most memorable.

The 18th title represents far more than another trophy; it is the latest chapter in a story that began in Dubai in 1992. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, founded Godolphin to pursue racing’s foremost prizes worldwide after a lifelong passion for horses.

Within four years the stable claimed its first British Owners’ Championship in 1996. Before Godolphin, Sheikh Mohammed’s own racing career under maroon silks delivered nine Owners’ Championships, including five consecutive successes from 1985 to 1989.

Combined, Sheikh Mohammed’s personal tally and Godolphin’s 18 give an extraordinary 27 British Owners’ Championships linked to his ownership. Adding the seven titles credited to his late brother Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum brings the Maktoum family total to an astonishing 34 championships.

These figures illustrate the family’s enduring influence in a nation where thoroughbred racing has existed for centuries.

Legacy, Trainers and Emerging Talent

Championships only tell part of the story; the great horses and the people who prepared them are equally vital. Emirati trainer Saeed bin Suroor was central to Godolphin’s early years, becoming the operation’s longest‑serving trainer and helping secure the first British owners’ crown in 1996, the same year the inaugural Dubai World Cup was run at Nad Al Sheba.

Bin Suroor’s honour roll includes Swain, a double King George winner; Daylami, a King George and Breeders’ Cup Turf victor; Dubai Millennium, Sheikh Mohammed’s outstanding 2000 Dubai World Cup champion; Fantastic Light, another Breeders’ Cup Turf success; and the unbeaten Lammtarra, who won the Epsom Derby, King George and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in 1995 while racing under Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum’s colours. Reflecting on an earlier honour, bin Suroor credited Sheikh Mohammed for the “opportunity, guidance and support” that helped shape his career.

Since his appointment in July 2013, Charlie Appleby has extended that legacy across major international meetings, winning the Epsom Derby with Masar and Adayar, the Melbourne Cup with Cross Counter and repeatedly capturing Breeders’ Cup prizes. Appleby and William Buick have formed one of modern racing’s most successful partnerships, building on the foundations laid by bin Suroor and Frankie Dettori. In September 2026 Appleby reached the milestone of 100 Group 1 victories, reinforcing his standing among the sport’s leading trainers.

Godolphin’s 2026 championship triumph rested on both established stars and emerging talent. The John Gosden‑trained Ombudsman followed his Dubai Turf win with a second consecutive victory in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot before returning to the same course to claim the Champion Stakes, prompting Gosden to describe him as ‘the best mile‑and‑a‑quarter horse I have trained, definitely.’

Beyond the headline horses, the season produced other memorable successes. Bin Suroor added a milestone when ten‑year‑old Dubai Future became the oldest winner ever to wear the royal blue silks, capturing the Group 3 Henry II Stakes at Sandown in May. Rebel’s Romance, Godolphin’s most decorated horse, signed off with a win at Newmarket’s July Festival.

Anderson praised the collective effort behind the stable’s achievements, noting that racing remains a team sport: “Racing is, as always, a team sport,” he said. He reserved his most heartfelt tribute for the visionary behind the operation: “A special thank you must of course go to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, whose unwavering support of and passion for our industry is an inspiration to us all,” he concluded.

THE ROYAL BLUE RECORD BOOK
18 British Owners’ Championships
1996 • 1998 • 1999 • 2001 • 2004 • 2006 • 2007 • 2012 • 2013 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2021 • 2022 • 2024 • 2025 • 2026

GODOLPHIN BY THE NUMBERS
9,810 victories worldwide • 486 Group 1 triumphs • 372 winners in 2026
Figures as of October 19, 2026