The success of the Dubai-based Godolphin stable in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup yesterday was not confined to the on-track performance of Overbury. Trainer Saeed Bin Suroor and jockey Frankie Dettori ensured that Godolphin's victory was also in the public relations stakes. The 29-year-old trainer of Overbury - and a host of other horses in Dubai and Britain - spent 20 minutes happily answering all and any queries from the local press. He rounded off by insisting that any time any local racing journalist was in Dubai, a call to him would ensure a trip round the Godolphin stables.
Bin Suroor has leapt to international racing prominence in less than three years but he has earned his spurs. He revealed that he first became interested in racing when his brother gave him a horse for his 11th birthday. 'After that I was hooked. I have been a trainer for eight years and with Godolphin for the past three years,' he happily explained. Dettori is also a huge winner - on and off the track. From Doncaster to Dubai they cheer him and Hong Kong racegoers were no different. His double was a delight - for them and for Frankie. The inquiry into the run of Asian Glory a week previous ended yesterday with the stewards accepting the explanations offered by champion trainer John Moore and rider Victor C. F. Chan.