Godolphin trainer admits to relief

Trainer Saeed bin Suroor today revealed 'the great relief' that Noverre`s win in the French 2000 Guineas provided for Godolphin.

The hitherto highly successful Dubai-based operation had been going through a quiet spring, with no winners to date in Britain and Express Tour only eighth in the Kentucky Derby.

And the recent death of stallion Dubai Millennium added to the gloom, which was lessened by the triumph of Noverre in the Poule d`Essai des Poulains at Longchamp on Sunday.

'I had a good feeling about coming here to France as I was pretty sure our luck would change,' bin Suroor told Gulf News.

'Noverre`s win proved me right. It`s such a good feeling to be winning again.

'We`ve never been afraid of failure and have always considered it as being a part of horse racing.

'So we accepted our failures in America and England, which makes Noverre`s win all the more special for us.

'However, it`s a great relief to win our first Group One race in Europe and hopefully it will put us on the road to more victories in big races.

'It`s still early in the year and even if we had some bad lucky early, things can change. I`m confident it will.'

No decision has ben made on the next target for Noverre, though he is unlikely to be added to the Derby field.

'We`ll have to see how he comes out of the race and then decide,' bin Suroor said. 'Obviously he has a lot of class and will improve for the race, so we`ll find a nice race for him but I don`t think it will be the Derby.'

The trainer was also happy with Tempting Fate`s fourth place in the Dubai Poule d`Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas).

'She ran a super race, we couldn`t be more pleased with her,' he said. 'She`s very genuine and we are confident she will improve for this race.'