Racing Post
BY LEE MOTTERSHEAD 8:06PM 16 SEP 2015
POSTPONED is set for a shock switch of stables after Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum took the decision to move his entire string, including the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner, from Luca Cumani to Roger Varian.
The Racing Post understands Cumani will soon lose all 23 horses he has raced this year for the sheikh, plus a sizeable number of unraced juveniles, after the high-profile owner executed the latest in a series of controversial and unexpected decisions.
Sheikh Obaid’s termination of working relations with Cumani could hardly be more surprising given the Newmarket trainer – who in 1998 saddled the owner’s High-Rise to win the Derby – has this year achieved great things with Postponed, winner of the King George in July.
Prix Foy success
As recently as Sunday the four-year-old underlined his credentials for the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe when winning the Prix Foy, as a result of which he can be backed at between 14-1 and 20-1 for Europe's €5 million championship prize.
It was last night unclear whether Postponed will be allowed to race for Cumani in the Arc but he will at some point move along with Cumani's other Sheikh Obaid-owned horses across Newmarket to join Varian.
Sheikh Mohammed's cousin has already changed Postponed's jockey this season, having replaced his own retained rider Adam Kirby with Andrea Atzeni prior to the King George.
The sheikh, who previously had Atzeni under contract after dispensing with the services of Kieren Fallon, explained his move to separate Kirby from Postponed by stating the rider had enjoyed no luck on the horse.
Long-term relationship
Sheikh Obaid has had horses with Cumani every year from 1997 onwards and since 2002 has teamed up with no other British trainer.
Before this season, Cumani's other notable successes with horses in the owner's yellow and black silks had come with the likes of high-class miler Afsare, Lancashire Oaks winner Emirates Queen and Oaks d'Italia winner Zomaradah.
This year, 12 of Sheikh Obaid's inmates at Cumani's Bedford House Stables have won races, with Postponed supported by seven other horses who have achieved Racing Post Ratings in advance of 100.
Connecticut won the Group 2 Bosphorus Cup in Turkey, Lady Of Dubai finished third in the Investec Oaks, Jordan Princess landed a Newmarket Listed race and Mount Logan won a valuable Glorious Goodwood handicap.
Among the entries for the 2016 Derby are ten Cumani-trained juveniles owned by the sheikh, all unraced.
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