Gosden Scores First Winner for Godolphin

Trainer John Gosden registered his first win for Godolphin when Tempus Temporis (Dynaformer) came home first in a mile conditions stakes at Chelmsford City, formerly Great Leighs, Sunday. The Essex track was holding a preview day of racing before its official launch Feb. 1. 

“This horse had the blinkers on which suited him and he’s been very progressive,” reported Gosden’s wife, Rachel Hood. 
Tempus Temporis was a winner last time out and was stepping up in class for the £20,000 Fast Track Qualifier, but Robert Havlin always looked confident and the 11-4 chance beat Super Kid (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) by an easy five lengths. 

“I knew Mr. Gosden’s horse stayed and we probably beat a few non-stayers there today,” admitted Havlin. 
Jono Mills, representing Godolphin added, “I would anticipate that the All-Weather Championship is exactly where we’ll go, but we’ll go home and check with John and the team and then a decision will be made.” 

Gosden also won with Zamoura (GB) (Azamour {Ire} in the SIS Maiden Fillies’ S. earlier on the card, while Godolphin was represented by Tryster (Ire) (Shamardal), who won the day’s first race. 

Only fans with pre-booked tickets and connections were able to attend the preview day of racing at Chelmsford City and, despite a few setbacks, the reaction of the crowd of roughly 750 in attendance was positive. 

“I came here when it was Great Leighs four or five times and it definitely wasn’t as good as this–this place is really nice,” said racegoer Seddik Hamla. “It’s better than places like Lingfield and they’ve really spent a few quid. I’ll be coming back soon as they’ve done it really well and what I’ve seen so far is very, very good.” 

Racecourse manager Philip Siers said, “We’ve got 58 fixtures here this year and we only bought it in December of 2013 and we’ve collapsed a two-year construction project into one year. The weather hasn’t helped us and we’ve a couple of small things to do, which will be completed by the end of January and we’ve limited the crowd on that basis. We’ve spent £15 million on the track, as we want to have a facility that helps racing and all of racing’s constituents.” 

Siers continued, “This is the first of possibly three trial fixtures–we certainly want one more. The official opening will be on Feb. 1 when we’ll be open to the public, although we might increase the crowd gradually, perhaps up to 1000/1200 for the Jan. 22 fixture. We’ve got overall prize money of £2.2 million this year, which is a considerable investment by us. For a small track that is a significant amount and we’re hoping to get some big corporate sponsors with the money ploughed back into the facilities and prize money. We have a couple of significant fixtures here–Mar. 28, which is World Cup night at Meydan and Sept. 26, which is Breeders’ Cup Trial night.” 

Joe Scanlon, racecourse chairman, added: “This is a preview and you don’t open a production on Broadway or the West End without a preview. I know that people are disappointed not to be at the inaugural meeting, but it’s for all the right reasons.”