Godolphin must learn from the Dettori years after Loughnane signing

The Racing Post’s Lee Mottershead says Godolphin’s decision not to name a number one between William Buick and Billy Loughnane is “potentially a very complicated situation”, and hopes the operation has learned from the last time it tried to share the top job.

Speaking to Nick Luck at Flemington, Mottershead picked up on Hugh Anderson’s comments on Wednesday’s show that a hierarchy between the two retained riders would emerge over time. “I hope Godolphin have learned the lessons from what you might call past mistakes,” he said. “Remember what happened when Frankie Dettori, who for years had been the Godolphin number one, suddenly found he was sharing that position with Mickael Barzalona. There was other stuff going on in the background there. We know that relations with Mahmood Al Zarooni were difficult. But trying to share the number one job did not end happily.”

Guineas rides already a question

He thinks the issue could come to a head quickly, with Charlie Appleby holding strong cards for next year’s Classics. Appleby trains the Fillies’ Mile winner Musical Times and Desert Castle, second in the Dewhurst. Both were ridden by Buick.

“Listening to Hugh, it did sound as though nothing has really been laid out clearly,” Mottershead said. “If you’re William Buick, who has been the number one for a significant period of time, I imagine you’d want to know in advance what the hierarchy is. Charlie Appleby, perhaps unhelpfully in this regard, has leading contenders for the 1,000 Guineas and the 2,000 Guineas. Does Charlie know, do Godolphin know, whether William rides those horses or Billy rides those horses? Does William ride one, does Billy ride the other?”

“You want him riding for you, not riding against you.”

Lee Mottershead on Billy Loughnane

He accepted those decisions might be six months away, and that Buick may already know more than the public. “It might well be that William Buick does know, and we’re just not party to that information at the moment,” he said. “But from an outsider’s perspective, it’s more than interesting, and it’ll certainly keep us with things to talk and write about for a bit.”

‘Hot, hot property’

Mottershead could see exactly why Godolphin moved for the new champion. “Billy Loughnane is hot, hot property,” he said. “He is the emerging, emerged force of the weighing room, and you want him riding for you, not riding against you. But they clearly and understandably still want William Buick riding for them and not against them. They’re two great guys and two very nice guys as well, but they are two jockeys who will want to be riding the best horse for the team in the best races. That means there’s a situation that will need to be handled very carefully.”