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Jimmy Bell To Retire From Godolphin USA; Michael Banahan Accepts Expanded Role

Godolphin announced today that president and racing manager Jimmy Bell will retire from his day-to-day involvement at its USA division by the end of the year.

Dan Pride, chief operating officer of Godolphin, USA, said, “Jimmy Bell is the bedrock that Godolphin USA is built upon. His history with Jonabell is well known and he has faithfully served 20 years molding us into what we are today. He is a friend to many of us and always an example of how to live your life and focus on what is important.”

When the Bell family's Jonabell Farm was acquired by HH Sheikh Mohammed in 2001, Bell was retained in his current role which guaranteed a smooth transition after the purchase. Bell commented, “My 20 years with Godolphin have been nothing short of a dream come true. More special have been the friendships and fellowships I've developed with so many folks here at Team Godolphin. It's been my privilege and pleasure to work alongside so many wonderful colleagues.”

Bell also indicated that while he's stepping back from his responsibilities at Godolphin's Jonabell location, he'll still be very active with the organization as its representative on several industry boards. He currently serves as president of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and is a member of the board of the Breeders' Cup and the Fayette Alliance, as well as the Keeneland Advisory Board.

Michael Banahan, currently the director of farm operations and the longest serving Darley/Godolphin USA employee, will transition to the role of director of bloodstock by the end of the year. This new role will encompass Bell's racing responsibilities as well as overseeing all aspects of managing the Godolphin USA horse population. Pride said, “Michael is an integral part of the success of the entire operation here in the US. His knowledge base covers everything from farm infrastructure needs, our stallion program, to planning the matings of such horses as Essential Quality and Maxfield. I know he's excited to assume this new and important responsibility.”

Banahan, who was named Kentucky Farm Manager of the Year in 2019, began his tenure with Darley in 1993. Banahan said, “For 20 years I've had the honor to work alongside Jimmy, and while there's going to be quite a void with his departure, I am very glad for him as he enters a new phase of life. Godolphin USA has a strong team and I'm excited about taking on this new challenge.”

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Bell Set to Retire from Godolphin

Jimmy Bell, president and racing manager for Godolphin's U.S. division, will retire from his day-to-day involvement with the operation by the end of the year, according to a release from the operation.

“Jimmy Bell is the bedrock that Godolphin USA is built upon,” said Dan Pride, Chief Operating Officer of Godolphin, USA. “His history with Jonabell is well known and he has faithfully served 20 years molding us into what we are today. He is a friend to many of us and always an example of how to live your life and focus on what is important.”

The Bell family's Jonabell Farm was acquired by Sheikh Mohammed in 2001 and Jimmy Bell was retained in his current position.

“My 20 years with Godolphin have been nothing short of a dream come true,” Bell said. “More special have been the friendships and fellowships I've developed with so many folks here at Team Godolphin. It's been my privilege and pleasure to work alongside so many wonderful colleagues.”

Bell said he plans to remain active with Godolphin as a representative on several industry boards. He currently serves as President of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and is a member of the board of the Breeders' Cup and the Fayette Alliance, as well as the Keeneland Advisory Board.

Michael Banahan, currently the Director of Farm Operations and the longest-serving Darley/Godolphin USA employee, will transition to the role of Director of Bloodstock by the end of the year. This new role will encompass Bell's racing responsibilities as well as overseeing all aspects of managing the Godolphin USA horse population.

Pride said, “Michael is an integral part of the success of the entire operation here in the US. His knowledge base covers everything from farm infrastructure needs, our stallion program, to planning the matings of such horses as Essential Quality and Maxfield. I know he's excited to assume this new and important responsibility.”

Banahan, who was named Kentucky Farm Manager of the Year in 2019, began his tenure with Darley in 1993.

“For 20 years I've had the honor to work alongside Jimmy, and while there's going to be quite a void with his departure, I am very glad for him as he enters a new phase of life,” Banahan said. “Godolphin USA has a strong team and I'm excited about taking on this new challenge.”

The post Bell Set to Retire from Godolphin appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Preakness Stakes Winner Bernardini Dies Of Laminitis At Age 18

Preakness winner and Eclipse champion Bernardini has been euthanized at Jonabell Farm due to complications from laminitis.

Homebred by Sheikh Mohammed in the early days of Darley's ownership of Jonabell Farm, Bernardini won six races in a row during a dazzling 2006 sophomore campaign, earning Eclipse champion 3-year-old honors and being rated world champion 3-year-old.

Trained by Tom Albertrani, the son of A.P. Indy broke his maiden in his second start at Gulfstream Park in March by almost eight lengths before capturing the Grade 3 Withers at Aqueduct in April. He then won in the Preakness, giving Sheikh Mohammed his first victory in an American Triple Crown race.

Later that summer, he easily won the G2 Jim Dandy and G1 Travers Stakes by nine and seven lengths at Saratoga, before a dominant six-and-three-quarter length victory in the G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup against older horses at Belmont Park, earning a career-best 117 Beyer. He finished his career with a runner-up finish to Invasor in the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs. Bernardini was piloted in all of his stakes wins by jockey Javier Castellano.

Bernardini retired to stud at Jonabell Farm for the 2007 breeding season as one of the most highly anticipated stallion prospects in recent memory. He did not disappoint. He sired no fewer than four G1 winners in his first crop: Travers and Cigar Mile winner Stay Thirsty, Woodward and Cigar Mile winner To Honor and Serve, Frizette winner A Z Warrior, plus Italian Gran Criterium winner Biondetti.

In his ensuing northern hemisphere crops, his top performers included Godolphin's homebred G1 Travers and G1 Woodward winner Alpha, Bobby Flay's G1 Humana Distaff winner Dame Dorothy, Shadwell's homebred G1 Vosburgh winner Takaful, and Stonestreet's G1 winners Cavorting and Rachel's Valentina, the latter a homebred daughter of Medaglia d'Oro's great daughter Rachel Alexandra.

Bernardini also shuttled to Australia for eight seasons between 2008 and 2015, siring G1 winners Boban, Ruud Awakening, and Go Indy Go. In total, he has sired 80 Black Type winners, 48 Graded Stakes winners, and 15 G1 winners worldwide.

In recent years, Bernardini has been making a name for himself as one of the best broodmare sires in the history of the breed. In May 2021, he became the youngest stallion ever to reach 50 Black Type winners as a broodmare sire. Bernardini currently has 54 black type winners, 32 graded stakes winners, and 11 G1 winners as a maternal grandsire, including Maxfield, Catholic Boy, Serengeti Empress, Dunbar Road, Colonel Liam and Paris Lights.

Bernardini was cared for during his 15-year tenure at Jonabell by his longtime groom, Philip Hampton.

Michael Banahan, director of farm operations for Godolphin USA, said, “Bernardini was one of a kind. From the day he was born, he exuded class. He was that crop's best foal, best yearling and best racehorse. His brilliance was only surpassed by his wonderful character. He will be sorely missed by all on the farm but especially by his handler for the past 15 years, Philip Hampton. It was an honor to be a custodian of this classic winning stallion whose legacy will live long as a broodmare sire.”

Tom Albertrani, Bernardini's trainer, said, “Bernardini was such a majestic animal. He was very talented, one of the best horses I've ever been around. I just feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to train him. He was a star.”

Jimmy Bell, President of Godolphin USA, said, “Bernardini was Sheikh Mohammed's first winner of a Triple Crown race – and a homebred one, too – and then a leading sire. We have been blessed to have him. A beautiful horse, and a lovely character, we are lucky to have so many of his daughters on the farm to continue his legacy.”

The post Preakness Stakes Winner Bernardini Dies Of Laminitis At Age 18 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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New Study Shows Last Line of Defense Against Equine Parasites Beginning To Fail

New research shows that ivermectin and moxidectin dewormers are losing their efficacy again small strongyles. This is particularly troublesome as these drugs are the last lines of defense against the worms and no new dewormers are in the research pipeline.

The study was the first in the world to confirm small strongyle resistance through repeated testing. Resistance to two of the three deworming drug classes was confirmed years ago and it was predicted that small stronglyes would become resistant to macrocyclic lactones, a class of dewormers of which ivermectin and moxidectin are a part.

The study team included Dr. Martin Nielsen, Professor of Equine Infectious Disease at the M.H. Gluck Equine Research Center, Michael Banahan of Godolphin's Jonabell Farm in Kentucky, and Dr. Ray Kaplan, parasitologist in the Department of Infectious Diseases at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia.

The team found that the efficacy of both ivermectin and moxidectin were reduced in a group of 50 imported Irish Thoroughbreds, though 50 US-bred horses on the same farm had no such resistance. The farm rigorously followed current guidelines for deworming and pulled fecal egg counts on all horses on the farm multiple times.

The horses were dewormed and tested multiple times over an eight-month period. The team concluded that the resistance to ivermectin and moxidectin was imported with the Irish horses. They note that this demonstrates how quickly resistant parasites can spread across the globe. They encourage farm and horse owners to utilize fecal egg count tests and to stringently follow deworming guidelines to attempt to increase the longevity of the efficacy of ivermectin and moxidectin.

Read the study here.