John Gosden

John Harry Martin Gosden OBE - or Johnny G for short, is one of Britain's most successful trainers from recent eras.

Born in 1951, he has trained over 3,000 winners worldwide, including winners at the Breeders' Cup meeting, the Epsom Derby, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in France, the King George at Ascot, as well as over 600 winners in the United States.

Graduating from Cambridgeshire University, he is unanimously considered as one of the finest trainers of his generation, with his reputation for honesty and virtue leading him to be referred to as 'one of the sport’s great communicators'.

After a few quiet years, he has begun to look more like a dominant and leading figure in the British Flat season, making the same impact that Aidan O'Brien has had in Ireland.

Based at Clarehaven Stables, he is another trainer who virtually has every trophy and medal in the cabinet at home, including four wins in the St Leger, four in the Irish Champion Stakes and is a three-time Champion Trainer.

The only major that evades him has been the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, which he has won once in Ireland, with the great Kingman in 2014.

Married to Rachel Hood - a lawyer, he has four children, named Sebastian, Serena, Theodora and Thaddeus.

Gosden has had so many talented individuals over the course of the last thirty years, but in the last two or three, he has probably had his best bunch to-date, which we will look into below.

Gosden has been fortuitous to have such a great team follow him around, to now work at Clarehaven Stables, including jockeys Robert Havlin, Frankie Dettori, and others such as Oisin Murphy who ride for retained colours – in this instance, Al Shaqab.

William Buick was the former retained stable jockey to Gosden before his move to Godolphin, switching with Dettori - who returned to the sport in 2013 after a six-month ban. The 68-year-old (2019) has been graced and gifted with so many equine stars in the last three decades, with old heroes Zoffany, Debussy and Flemensfirth to kick off.

More recently he trained Nathaniel, who chased down Frankel’s tail almost every other weekend as a juvenile and as a three-year-old, but represents some of the best form ever gathered in the history books and has since made himself into a fine sire.

Jumping forward a few years, he has fathered arguably one of the greatest fillies of all time in Enable; also trained by the Sussex-born man, who won the Oaks as a three-year-old, before back-to-back Prix de l’Arc de Triomphes in France.

Nathaniel, along with Jack Hobbs, Kingman – who won the Irish 2,000 Guineas and the St James’s Palace at Royal Ascot, Journey – who took the Fillies & Mares Race on Champions Day, as well as the great Golden Horn, winner of the Derby, Irish Champion and Arc, all represent the same era.

In the past couple of years, his standout individuals have been Cracksman – a son of Frankel, who was a dual winner of the Champion Stakes at Ascot.

Star stayer Stradivarius landed the £1 million bonus last season, whilst Roaring Lion drastically improved from his win in the Dante, to take the Coral Eclipse at Sandown and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot later in the season.

Too Darn Hot (son of Dubawi and Dar Re Mi) was Champion Juvenile for Gosden in 2018, and has plenty more to offer in his three-year-old campaign this term.

Gosden has been based at Clarehaven Stables for just over ten years.

The yard is located in County Suffolk, Newmarket, where he trains horses to complete in the flat division.

He began as a number two to both Vincent O’Brien and later, Sir Noel Murless, before moving to California, US, in the 1970’s to become Tommy Doyle's full-time assistant.

Gosden then decided to take out his own American Horse Training license in 1979, despite having only acquired just three horses and no yard to train them in.

Eventually, he moved back to Britain in 1989 to train horses at Stanley House Stables, eleven years before moving to Manton, forming a successful partnership with Italian jockey Frankie Dettori in the process.

In 2007, he transferred to Clarehaven where he has set-up shop since.

His office is now decorated with pictures of some of the most successful horses he has trained.

As mentioned, Too Darn Hot is certainly a horse to follow this season – if it was not obvious already.

Champion two-year-old, he was unbeaten in four starts after wins in the Dewhurst and Champagne Stakes before being defeated first time out as a three-year-old in the Dante Stakes at York.

The son of Dubawi will switch back to a mile, and has options to go for the Irish 2,000 Guineas – after missing the British equivalent through injury, The St James’s Palace and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.

In the same colours, Lord Lloyd Webber will be expecting another promising season from his top filly Lah Ti Dar, who finished second in the St Leger last year, and third in the Fillies & Mares on Champions Day.

Still very inexperienced, she returned with a victory on the Knavesmire at York this term, and could be seen at Epsom next – the same destination for younger filly Mehdaayih who will go for the Oaks.

Gosden trains the speedball Calyx, an unbeaten son of Kingman who landed the Coventry Stakes as a juvenile and is already a short-price for the Commonwealth Cup, along with Winter Derby winner Wissahickon, who won the Cambridgeshire Handicap at Newmarket with ease last term.

Private Secretary, Entitle, Sparkle Roll and Dubai Warrior are other all with promising seasons ahead of them.

Of his older guns, more will be expected of standout stars Enable and Stradivarius who flag bear the yard, both campaigned towards a third Arc and second Ascot Gold Cup respectively.