Nomadic Nacim ‘Treks’ to Winterbottom
Godolphin’s travelling foreman has spent plenty of 2020 in quarantine but holds high hopes for today’s Perth Group 1
In a year in which normal life has come to a standstill, few people have travelled as frequently as Godolphin’s Nacim Dilmi, so perhaps it is fitting that the French expat will saddle up the aptly-named Trekking (Street Cry) in today’s Winterbottom Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at Ascot.
With widespread state border closures across Australia for the first time since federation, Godolphin’s travelling foreman Dilmi has spent much of his year in quarantine, hopping between cities to look after Godolphin’s interstate raiders away from Sydney and Melbourne.
“The first time we had to quarantine, we went to South Australia for the winter carnival so we were in a hotel room in Adelaide for two weeks,” Dilmi told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday. “And then from South Australia, after Trekking won the Goodwood, we went to Queensland and we had to quarantine for another two weeks.
“I was back in Sydney after the Brisbane winter carnival and James asked me if I wanted to go to Perth, I was happy to do that.
“It was harder to get into Western Australia than the other places because I needed an actual permit just to enter the state, so that was hard to do, but Perth Racing helped a lot. Actually, we got on the plane from Sydney to Perth and the permit was still pending, so we didn’t even know when we landed if we’d be approved to enter the state – we thought we might have to turn around and go straight back to Sydney.
“Thankfully, it got approved once we landed. We had to do quarantine here for two weeks – thankfully, we managed to make it work.”
The 33-year-old has been Godolphin head trainer James Cummings’ right-hand man since joining Leilani Lodge, then run by Cummings’ legendary grandfather Bart, in 2011. It was the culmination of a journey with an inauspicious beginning in France.
“I started racing at the age of 13, when I always used to go to the races with my dad,” he said. “I had no racing background in the family but dad loves racing and loves a punt. Basically, that’s how I fell in love with it.
“I went to the French Racing School (Ecole des Courses Hippiques) in Chantilly, I did my apprenticeship with Criquette Head for five years. I rode a few races, but when I put on a bit of weight and started to struggle with that, with the dieting and all that, I decided to stop.
“I stayed there for a couple of years beyond that though and then I went to England for three years. I rode for Paul Cole and Tom Dascombe and that was where I met my wife Lauren.”
The trek across the English Channel was just the start of his travels, though, with Dilmi casting his eyes further afield. In a different world, Dilmi could have instead been celebrating Thanksgiving this week in the United States, free of the quarantine shackles imposed in Australia but also confronting a Covid-19 situation far more severe than down under.
“After three years in England, I thought I’d like to do something different,” he said. “We looked at going to America, but it was getting a bit too popular for Europeans to go there. This was 2009 and nobody really came to Australia at that time so we decided to come here for six months; we’ve been here 11 years.
“I started with Gai Waterhouse, did my six months, then I went and worked in Melbourne for Greg Eurell for six months. I went to Sydney and started to work for Bart Cummings, I worked for him for a month early on but after Melbourne, I stayed there and went through the whole visa process.
“James was the foreman at the time, and then when James and Bart went into partnership, I had the opportunity to step up as stable foreman. And I’ve basically stayed on ever since!
“When James took over the job at Godolphin, they asked me if I’d like to join. Obviously, that was a no-brainer, there was no doubt or no question. After three years or so, I’ve been lucky enough to travel across the country with their horses – Queensland, South Australia, Victoria a few times. It’s a great feeling when you get to travel with good horses.”
Dilmi, whose clipped French accent is punctuated by an Australian twang, spoke to ANZ Bloodstock News shortly after riding Winterbottom Stakes favourite Trekking yesterday morning.
“Trekking has had a nice couple of weeks, they’ve been easy,” he said. “He’s had three starts between Sydney and Melbourne, that hard run in The Everest between the two Moonee Valley Group 1s.
“He had a nice trial on Monday with Willie Pike on at Belmont. He wasn’t there to break any records and we treated it as a final gallop. It was good for Willie to get a feel for him ahead of tomorrow’s race.
“He’s going into the Winterbottom in super order, I couldn’t be happier with him. He’s feeling really well. Tomorrow will be his grand final this preparation and I’d say he’ll go back to Sydney in a week or ten days or so.”
Also under Dilmi’s auspices while in Perth is the enigmatic Kementari (Lonhro), who finished midfield as top-weight in last weekend’s Railway Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m).
The six-year-old will have one more run in Perth, but which race is yet to be decided, with the Kingston Town Classic (Gr 1, 1800m) and the A J Scahill Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) among his options as he looks to break a drought that stretches back to the 2018 Randwick Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m).
“Kementari will have his next run next weekend,” Dilmi said. “We haven’t ruled out the Kingston Town yet, but at this stage, we’re going to give him a gallop on Tuesday and we’ll see how he pulls up from that.
“He’s pulled up really well from the Railway, it was a good run. He’s never been beyond a mile so James and the team will have a talk after his gallop Tuesday and see whether we step him up to 1800 metres or go back to the 1400 metres.”
As for the Dilmis, their nomadic 2020 is set to continue with one final stop before the year is out.
“After we’re finished here, the horses will travel back to Sydney and myself and Lauren will travel to Queensland for the summer,” he said.
Last night, Trekking was a $2.20 favourite with TAB for the Winterbottom Stakes, which will jump at 5.30pm local time (8.30pm ADST).