Dual Eclipse hero Halling hailed as ‘one of the best’ by Bin Suroor
‘To win as many top races in the UK as he did was something special’.
For a man who during a 20-year period trained some of the best horses around, when Saeed bin Suroor says dual Coral-Eclipse hero Halling is one of the best he handled, it is no wild statement. The Godolphin trainer was the dominant force in Flat racing during the 1990s and early 2000s, with a magnificent list of big-race winners. Bin Suroor trained the likes of Dubai Millennium, Fantastic Light, Mark Of Esteem, Lammtarra and Sakhee but he rates Halling as right up there with the best of them. Halling is one of only five horses to have won the Eclipse more than once, with Mtoto the only other since the 1920s. He began his racing life with John Gosden running in the maroon and white Sheikh Mohammed colours before the switch to Godolphin blue, by when he had already won a Cambridgeshire. Three victories in Dubai followed for Hilal Ibrahim before former policeman Bin Suroor took over at the helm.Did you know that Halling was the first to carry the #TeamGodolphin blue silks to G1 victory in Britain? 🔵
Including the G1 Eclipse Stakes @Sandownpark… twice! 🏆🏆 Here he is defending his crown in 1996 👇 pic.twitter.com/61aZtbp3Rc — Godolphin (@godolphin) July 4, 2021
Throwback to 1998 when Daylami led home a Godolphin 1-2-3 in the G1 Coral Eclipse @Sandownpark! 🏆🥈🥉 The talented grey went on to win a further five G1 races in 🇬🇧, 🇮🇪, 🇫🇷 and 🇺🇸! pic.twitter.com/KRTNHHgiEt
— Godolphin (@godolphin) July 5, 2020
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