RIYADH: John Gosden was proud to witness an exciting new chapter in his family鈥檚 horse racing history, after Mishriff won the $20 million Saudi Cup for owner Prince Abdulrahman bin Abdullah Al-Faisal.

Five years ago, he had tried to dissuade his 25-year-old son Thady from following in his footsteps as a trainer 鈥� just as his own father, 鈥淭owser鈥� Gosden, had done before his death in 1967.

John, 16 then, turns 70 three days after Saturday鈥檚 Dubai World Cup meeting, and Thady will soon share a license with him to extend the Gosden dynasty.

With coronavirus quarantine protocols preventing John from attending the world鈥檚 richest race in Riyadh last month, it was left to Thady to oversee Mishriff鈥檚 surprise victory, which he now hopes to repeat in the $5 million Dubai Sheema Classic as part of Meydan鈥檚 showpiece.

鈥淚t was wild after the race with all the celebrations,鈥� said John. 鈥淚t was great, he did a good job in Riyadh so doesn鈥檛 need the old man in Dubai."

鈥淚鈥檓 not retiring yet. I don鈥檛 mean to hang on forever, but a great friend of mine, the wonderful American trainer Charlie Whittingham, had never won the Kentucky Derby and people always used to tease him about it. Then when he was 73 and 76 he won it twice,鈥� he added. 鈥淎ge is a number and, as long as you are contributing and being a positive influence, that鈥檚 fine. If not, then get out of the way.

鈥淢y father, the last thing he said to me before he died, was 鈥榳hatever you do, don鈥檛 be a racehorse trainer.鈥� It鈥檚 52 weeks of the year, seven days a week. Our house was in the stable yard so I was brought up with horses all around me.鈥�

It鈥檚 a piece of advice he dutifully passed on to his own son, with little success.

鈥淚 did try to persuade Thady. Five years ago, I said to him, 鈥業鈥檓 going to be really clear: This is your idea, not mine,鈥� and he said 鈥業鈥檓 very clear on that鈥�,鈥� Gosden said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 got a passion for it and the appetite, and that鈥檚 what you need. I tried to do something else, but I came back to racing.鈥�

That something, after graduating from Cambridge, was to help design a science park in Venezuela. 鈥淏ut when I was going to the track at 4.30 a.m. in Caracas, I knew it was time to be honest with myself,鈥� he said.

John returned to work for Sir Noel Murless and Vincent O鈥橞rien before heading to California in 1979 to make his own mark. He was persuaded to leave America in 1988 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and vice president of the UAE, paving the way for the rise of the Godolphin operation.

鈥淚 was a little surprised when I came back to discover they had 42 other trainers as well in Europe so I wondered at the time why they needed me,鈥� laughed Gosden, who has four children with his wife Rachel.

鈥淚t all goes hand in hand with his vision for Dubai to become an international meeting place. I remember picking the training track at Al-Quoz with him 鈥� and it turned into being an amazingly successful operation.鈥�

The Sheikh Mohammed-owned Benny The Dip gave Gosden his first Epsom Derby win in 1997. As Godolphin grew, he moved on to work with Robert Sangster before spending the last 15 years running his own Clarehaven Stables in Newmarket.

Gosden, though, has long had an affinity with the Gulf and a successful relationship with Prince Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Saud, founder of the Juddmonte Farms breeding operation, before his passing in January aged 83.

鈥淗e was a very brilliant man, a great judge of every situation. He had a great sense of humour too 鈥� a man of extraordinary humility which is quite a rare quality these days.

鈥淗e was very incisive in his thinking and, in 40 years, he developed the greatest breeding operation in thoroughbred racing history,鈥� Gosden added. 鈥淭hat is something that will never be seen or done again, a quite extraordinary achievement.鈥�

While the American dirt horse Spectacular Bid, which he described as a 鈥減henomenal machine,鈥� is one he would have loved to train, Gosden picks the Prince Khalid-owned Enable as the best he did.

鈥淪he was absolutely amazing, the type of horse that made you want to get up in the morning,鈥� he said of the horse that retired in 2020 with 15 wins in 19 races. 鈥淪he was the most consistently brilliant horse I ever trained. To win three King George鈥檚, back-to-back Arcs, the Eclipse Stakes and a Breeders鈥� Cup Turf, there鈥檚 not many that will ever do that again. A third Arc was one dance too far. But that鈥檚 life.

鈥淚鈥檝e been incredibly lucky. The races I鈥檝e dreamt of winning, I鈥檝e won. The Saudi Cup was probably one I never thought I would win 鈥� and we did. It was special.鈥�

While a first Dubai World Cup will have to wait, Gosden said the Sheema Classic 鈥� which he won with Dar Re Mi in 2010 and Jack Hobbs seven years later 鈥� will be a test run to see if Mishriff is considered for October鈥檚 Prix de l鈥橝rc de Triomphe.

鈥淲e are trying something quite new by going for the Sheema Classic,鈥� he added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a step up and a bit of a fact-finding mission. I think he will stay the mile and a half on turf, but you never know.

鈥淚f he doesn鈥檛 stay, then we come back mid-summer and go for the Group 1 mile-and-a-quarter European races like the Prince of Wales鈥檚 Stakes, the Eclipse Stakes and the Juddmonte International.

鈥淚f he does, then he can attack one of those in the summer and be pointing for the Arc. Whether he goes to a Breeders鈥� Cup is way off anyone鈥檚 thinking right now,鈥� said Gosden.

鈥淎s a trainer I鈥檇 also be dead keen for another Saudi Cup next year, but the owner, Prince Faisal, is a breeder and he might have other ideas.鈥�