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Champion trainer John O’Shea has skipped out early from his five-year contract with global powerhouse Godolphin in a massive move for Australian racing.
Three years into his run, O’Shea has been at the top of the perch as the stable’s Australian head trainer, however, the relationship has parted with rumours going in every direction.
While O’Shea has remained silent on the decision, there have been talks of a possible rift with Henry Plumptre, the Managing Director of Godolphin Australia, among other high-ranking officials.
Plumptre was conveniently at Hawkesbury over the weekend to present the trophy for the Godolphin Crown but gave out crickets when pressed about the issue.
“There will be no comment until later in the week,” he said.
Other reports say that he’s simply in need of a break from the stresses and tribulations of running one of the biggest gigs in racing.
It’s been very tight-lipped thus far in terms of reports, with neither party letting out news or comments on the matter.
It’s believed that O’Shea is looking to seal his payout deal before he or Godolphin make anything official.
In the same vein, the stable has reportedly already sent out feelers for a replacement, with the current assistant trainer and dual Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Darren Beadman in the mix alongside James Cummings, the grandson of legendary trainer Bart Cummings.
O’Shea is fresh off a massive win with It’s Somewhat barely one month ago, picking up his first Doncaster Mile win in 11 years, and his third overall.
He bagged the job with the stable owned by the Emir of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, at the back end of 2013, taking over from Peter Snowden in early 2014.
His tenure showed off varying degrees of success.
While he did pick up ten Group 1s and nearly 600 winners overall in the three-year period, he was unable to take the big slices of cake.
Godolphin’s major targets of the Cox Plate, Golden Slipper, Caulfield Cup and of course, the Melbourne Cup, have all gone unanswered under his reign.
A lengthy break looks to be on the cards for the now veteran of the racing game.
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