GODOLPHIN is unlikely to have horses trained in Ireland for the foreseeable future according to Joe Osborne, managing director of Godolphin Ireland.

Safecracker, trained by Johnny Murtagh, is the only horse Godolphin has in training in Ireland today as numbers have dwindled on a yearly basis following an increased focus on the organisation’s in-house trainers.

“Where the horses go to is decided on a year-to-year basis,” Osborne said.

“When it comes to August we just look at what we have in terms of numbers and quality and so on. No yearlings were allocated to Irish trainers last autumn and I’d say it’ll be the same again this autumn.

“The focus is on the UK and French-based trainers at the moment. Our numbers have reduced slightly in recent years and the in-house trainers are getting the best horses available.”