There is absolutely no doubt that Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Godolphin empire sits right up there with Coolmore and very few others at the absolute pinnacle of horse racing operations world-wide. There is equally no doubt that, like all great organisations and businesses, that success has been built on foundations of hard work, good financing, brilliant people and, some would say most importantly of all, a clearly understood and respected corporate culture and ethical framework.
When the ethics slip, or the culture cracks a little, things can go very wrong. Just ask the NSW Blues Rugby League Origin side about that! And when the culture cracks, the signs are clear. People disappear from the organisation, very often the people who were instrumental in building the culture in the first place.
That’s what seems to be happening at Godolphin’s Australian business.
Firstly, we had the James McDonald betting saga. The thing to remember here is that James was Godolphin’s pin-up boy. A prodigiously talented – and very young – jockey in a position that could have catapulted him into the stratosphere of race riding. But he succumbed, apparently, to the blandishments of a typically gutless coat-tugger, placed a bet on a horse he was riding for the stable, got caught, as he was always going to be once he told anybody at all about it, and has paid a hefty price for his lack of judgement.
But now we have other stuff hitting the fan. The strangles cover-up was just stupid. Strangles is equine distemper and it’s an extremely contagious upper respiratory tract infection caused by a streptococcus bacterium. It’s also spread by direct contact between horses, nose-to-nose contact, it’s not airborne. The Racing Rules state very clearly that any strangles case has to be reported to the stewards. But it wasn’t! Somebody in the Godolphin management structure took the decision to try to keep a lid on the problem. Dumb call!
And now we have John O’Shea gone from his position as Head Trainer, and Henry Plumptre gone from his position as Godolphin’s top man Down Under.
O’Shea’s departure was certainly rapid, and seemed to show some signs of rancor. Maybe, when and if he feels that the time is right John O’Shea will let us all know what went on.
Plumptre’s departure is directly linked to the strangles debacle. He has, apparently, taken the blame for the organisation’s failure to report the outbreak and fallen on his sword.
The real question is – were both men pushed?
Plumptre rightly said “the reputation and integrity of Godolphin is the most important aspect of what we do and this issue has impacted on that reputation”. But Plumptre was the man in charge. He was the guy who had the responsibility to set the operating culture that took Godolphin to the top, and he was the guy who had the responsibility to make sure that culture was absolutely rock solid. In any organisation, the person at the top sets the tone. Did Plumptre know of the problem? Was he the one who decided to try to hide it? It’s difficult to see how somebody who had led the business for so long, who was so intimately involved with every aspect of the business, did not know.
Equally, questions now need to be asked about John O’Shea’s situation and also James McDonald’s case.
Did O’Shea leave willingly, or may there have been friction between he and Plumptre – two very able and very strong-willed individuals.
Was McDonald, who came over from New Zealand in 2015 to replace Kerrin McEvoy as Godolphin’s stable jockey, and who was hand-picked by O’Shea, given the appropriate management guidance that a young star should have been given. McDonald is still only 25 years old.
And spare a thought for James Cummings, still in his first month as Godolphin’s Head Trainer, and another for Darren Beadman, who had a really successful stint as the interim Head Trainer. James must be wondering what the hell he has gotten into, and Darren must be wondering what more he needed to do to be given the gig full-time.
Godolphin will survive the turmoil. But there are still challenging times ahead for Cummings, and for whoever gets the task of replacing Plumptre. James is going to need every bit of the guile and cunning of Grandfather Bart. And Plumptre’s replacement is going to face the task of fixing a corporate culture that clearly needs some repair. It may not be on life support, but it’s certainly got the strangles!