John Ferguson has pledged to take Godolphin back to the top after he was formally appointed chief executive and racing manager to a streamlined operation on Tuesday.
Since the departure of Simon Crisford as the long-standing racing manager in February last year, Ferguson has played an increasingly wider role than his position as bloodstock advisor to founder Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai had suggested.
Godolphin has continually evolved since Mahmood Al Zarooni left in disgrace in 2013 and Ferguson’s appointment is the latest in a long-line of re-positioning that has taken place.
“When you have 5,000 horses worldwide and 1,500 staff you do not make knee-jerk reactions,” Ferguson said about his appointment on Tuesday.
Geoffrey Riddle: California Chrome, Postponed and Sole Power among the 181 Dubai World Cup Carnival entries
“I have had an influence in the direction of Godolphin as bloodstock advisor to Sheikh Mohammed over the past few years, as have other excellent people within the organisation and in Darley and they will continue to do so.
“Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid is always innovating and trying to make things better and this is just a natural evolution.”
Ferguson will sit at the head of the board of directors at Godolphin, and Hugh Anderson will continue as the managing director of the Godolphin Management Company.
Ferguson will hand in his National Hunt trainers’ licence at the end of season in April and the jumps horses in his string that are considered suitable for racing on the Flat will be absorbed by Charlie Appleby at his Moulton Paddocks stable in Newmarket.
A decision on the home of the National Hunt horses that are not considered suitable will be made at a later date and all the staff at his Bloomfields operation will be invited to work for Godolphin and share in the proposed success of the Dubai-based organisation.
“I need to focus all of my time on Godolphin,” Ferguson said about turning his back on training. “I feel that Sheikh Mohammed deserves that. We are sad but excited here at Bloomfields, and excited about the future.”
Darley, the breeding arm of Sheikh Mohammed’s equine empire, will now be absorbed in to Godolphin. Godolphin have sizeable operations not only in Dubai, but in Australia, United States, France, Japan, Ireland and England and Ferguson was looking forward to implementing a common strategy.
“It makes sense that we are one team,” Ferguson added.
“What we need is to pull everything together and get everybody working in the right direction towards maximise the potential of every horse.”
Following the investigation by Lord Stevens, the former Metropolitan Police chief commissioner in Britain, in 2013 it was recommended that the role of racing manager was done away with.
Having played a pivotal role following the departure of Al Zarooni, Crisford left Godolphin in February last year and has since taken up a training licence in Newmarket.
“Fundamentally we need somebody focused on the racehorse and anything that improves communication for Sheikh Mohammed and the organisation can only be a good thing,” Ferguson said.
Since Crisford’s departure Godolphin have cancelled the retainer they had with jockey Silvestre de Sousa.
Fellow retained jockey Mickael Barzalona has relocated to France and last November James Doyle and William Buick were recruited to ride for the operation worldwide.
In Australia long-standing Godolphin jockey Kerrin McEvoy has left to ride freelance and was replaced by James McDonald, while John O’Shea was appointed principal trainer there last year.
This summer in Britain Godolphin changed their strategy by spreading more and more horses around stables such as those run by Newmarket trainers John Gosden and Ed Walker, as well as Richard Fahey based in the north of the country.
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
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About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
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Favourite author - Paulo Coelho
Favourite holiday destination - Cuba
New York Times or Jordan Times? NYT is a school and JT was my practice field
Role model - My Grandfather
Dream interviewee - Che Guevara
Racecard
6pm: Mina Hamriya – Handicap (TB) $75,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
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8.55pm: Mina Rashid – Handicap (TB) $80,000 (T) 1,600m
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Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
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The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
