The Heart of Godolphin: Saeed bin Suroor’s 40th Royal Ascot win a victory for modesty

At the regal theatre of Royal Ascot, reputations are forged with every thundering stride. Some stories echo across generations - others fade in the silence of the turf.

But not this particular story.

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For nearly four decades, Saeed bin Suroor has been highly regarded as a master horseman and trainer known for being gracious in triumph. That familiar glint returned to his eyes on Thursday as Arabian Story thundered home in the Britannia Stakes, handing Saeed his landmark 40th Royal Ascot winner. It was a full-circle moment, almost thirty years since his first Royal Ascot triumph with So Factual in 1995.

This was a milestone carved not numerically but by sheer character.

Saeed’s string may have shrunk from a mighty 250 to just 30 horses today yet when he talks about his horses there's a spark. “We try to do the best with what we have,” says a vintage Saeed, with just faith.

Arabian Story and jockey Oisin Murphy helped answer that faith with a barnstorming prompting Saeed to declare that the 29-year-old three-time British champion was “the best jockey in the world.”

Murphy, who has enjoyed a profitable association with Saeed was also generous in praise for Saeed, the oldest serving handler with Godolphin, the globe-trotting racing stable created by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

“I’m over the moon to give Saeed his 40th Royal Ascot winner,” Murphy said. “He’s an incredible trainer. Very respectful. Very patient. That’s what sets him apart.”

When asked about his favourite Royal Ascot winner Saeed ducks the question.

“They’re all special,” he says, before finally giving in: Dubai Millennium, the once-in-a-lifetime colt who dazzled in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes before siring Dubawi, perhaps the greatest stallion of our time.

March 25, 2000, remains one of the most iconic moments in Saeed’s career as Dubai Millennium emerged as an imperious and record-setting winner of the Dubai World Cup solidifying his legendary status in global racing.

And what a dream Saeed has carried: Four champion trainer at Royal Ascot, four British trainer championships, 13 Classic wins, nine Dubai World Cups, over 500 Group wins across the globe, and now 40 Royal Ascot victories - achievements that belong to the history books.

Over three decades, Saeed’s Royal Ascot legacy has been furnished by a string of unforgettable champions in the Godolphin blue — from the imperious Dubai Millennium in 2000 to dual Gold Cup hero Kayf Tara, the globe-trotting Fantastic Light (2001), classy miler Shamardal (2005), the versatile Benbatl (2017), and the ever-game Real World (2021). Each of them has helped cement his place as one of the most successful and respected trainers in the history of the Royal Meeting.

And on Thursday, as he watched Arabian Story canter back to rapturous applause at the Royal Ascot winner's enclosure Saeed said with quiet satisfaction: “It’s nice to be back.”