RACING HISTORY

Fans tour Sheik Mohammed’s Greentree Stable

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Cheryl Johnson took a trip back in time Tuesday to teenage years when she’d cool off in one of the Spa City’s most exclusive and well-guarded swimming pools.

In the 1970s, Johnson’s now 100-year-old mother, Eleanor Clements, was part of the kitchen staff at Greentree Stable on Nelson Avenue, which belonged to John Hay “Jock” Whitney, a former U.S. ambassador to Great Britain and one of America’s leading thoroughbred owners and breeders.

“If she knew he wasn’t going to be here, she’d let us go through the house, watch the horses and go swimming with my friends,” Johnson said. “It was really, really fun.”

She relived those memories during a rare tour of the 75-acre property, now owned by Sheikh Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai and vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates. He purchased the site in 2008 from Robert Mc-

Nair, owner of the NFL’s Houston Texans, who acquired it from Whitney’s estate several years earlier.

“People who worked here were from all different countries,” Johnson said. “My mom would take them to places around Saratoga like Yaddo and Saratoga Performing Arts Center. She really opened their eyes up to what’s here. They really appreciated it.”

Likewise, the tour’s 100 participants were equally fascinated by the farm’s immaculate, first-class facilities. The visit was coordinated in partnership with the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, as part of its ongoing mission to educate fans about racing history.

“I’ve been admiring this property for 87 years and have never been in here,” said Harry Snyder, a lifelong Saratoga Springs resident and former New York State racing commissioner. “I’m really impressed by the near milelong training track and the grounds, the way they keep this property up and the number of people it must take to do it. It’s just amazing.”

The sheikh stays at the Nelson Avenue property when visiting Saratoga Springs, but hasn’t for several years because of his many outside commitments. The main 10-bedroom, colonial-style residence was built in 1870 for the Trask family. Whitney purchased it in 1930.

Fred Astaire, a close friend and frequent guest, “used to love coming out and dancing on the front lawn,” said Emma Browne, a long-time Godolphin employee.

She led the tour with Cate Johnson, a Racing Museum staff member who previously worked at Greentree for Kiaran McLaughlin, one of the sheik’s primary thoroughbred trainers.

The sheikh’s Godolphin Racing operation is one of the largest and most successful operations on the planet. He owns six thoroughbred farms in Kentucky alone, plus interests around the globe in places such as Ireland, Australia and Japan.

“Saratoga is very important to us,” Browne said. “This is obviously the creme de la creme of racing, the best spot in the world.”

Visitors got a close-up looking at a number of 2-year-old fillies, sired by some of racing’s greatest champions such as Medaglia d’Oro (2002 Travers Stakes winner), Ghostzapper (2004 Breeders’ Cup Classic) and 2000 Horse of the Year Tiznow.

“It’s such a pleasure to train horses here because they’re calm and relaxed,” Browne said. “They really enjoy the quiet. It’s also great for the grooms and hotwalkers. Most of the staff comes from Mexico, We apply for visas for them every year.”

The property’s training track has a synthetic surface comprised of rubber, fiber and sand, which drains better and is softer for horses to run on.

However, horses sometimes also work out on the neighboring Saratoga Race Course’s main dirt track, or the Oklahoma Training Track’s turf course.

After purchasing the property, the sheikh had two large barns built with accommodations for 96 horses, plus a 25-room dormitory for workers.

Browne briefly described a racing stable’s hierarchy starting with the trainer, followed by assistant trainers, a foreman, grooms, exercise riders and hotwalkers, which lead horses around following a workout to cool them down, before bathing.

Arriving at 4 a.m., the foreman takes over from the night watchman and promptly takes each horse’s temperature to make sure they’re healthy. Each groom is assigned four horses, and the first set reaches the track at 6 a.m., beginning a routine that lasts for the next few hours.

“Most barns run really well like a nicely oiled machine,” Browne said. “It’s a big family.”

PAUL POST — PPOST@DIGITALFIRSTMEDIA.COM Godolphin employee Emma Browne introduces visitors to Zennor, a 6-year-old gelding sired by Medaglia d’Oro, winner of the 2002 Travers Stakes.

PAUL POST — PPOST@DIGITALFIRSTMEDIA.COM About 100 people tour Sheik Mohammed’s Greentree Stable in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, in a program co-organized by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

Godolphin Racing’s Greentree Stable on Nelson Avenue has a nearly mile-long training track with a synthetic surface comprised of rubber, fiber and sand that is softer for horses to run on.

PAUL POST — PPOST@DIGITALFIRSTMEDIA.COM The main 10-bedroom residence was built for the Trask family in 1870.

The new barns at Greentree Stable were designed by Frost Architecture of Saratoga Springs.

Godolphin Racing’s Greentree Stable has state-of-the-art facilities including a synthetic surface training track.

After purchasing Greentree Stable, Sheikh Mohammed had two large barns built with accommodations for nearly 100 horses.

Some of the fillies stabled at Godolphin’s Greentree Stable were sired by champions such as Medaglia d’Oro, Ghostzapper and Tiznow.

Cheryl Johnson of Saratoga Springs visited Greentree Stable quite often as a teenager because her mother, Eleanor Clements, worked on the kitchen staff.