It is the job Darren Beadman has spent a lifetime preparing for but "never really wanted".
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His name is back in the racebook, not as the jockey but as a trainer for racing's biggest name – Godolphin.
It is a role Beadman knows and understands. He has done an apprenticeship to be a trainer under some of the biggest names in the game.Â
He has been at Crown Lodge, Godolphin's Warwick Farm base, on and off, since 1988 when Vic Thompson was the main man.
He first rode for Sheikh Mohammed that same year when he won a Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Authaal, but training was not on his radar.
"I have links with this place and the boss that go back a long way, but I never thought I would be doing this," Beadman said. "It was great working with Johnny [O'Shea] and the stable has been going great. I would have been happy for it to continue like that but things change
"I was quite happy doing what I was doing, but I'm happy to get this opportunity in a way."
![Long-time alliance: Darren Beadman returns a winner for Sheikh Mohammed on Authaal in the 1998 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20171025191839im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/2/i/e/u/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gw2l4d.png/1494479964166.jpg)
John O'Shea's decision to call time on his contract as Godolphin head trainer left a void and Beadman, his assistant for the past couple of years, has stepped up.
For how long will depend on Godolphin's search for a new trainer.
The former champion jockey started his training career the right way with a winning double at Canterbury on Wednesday, but it is much more than a caretaking role.
"I just want to keep things going the way they were because it was working well," Beadman said. "To be one of the main trainers for Sheikh Mohammed is a big job and it is an honour but there is a lot of responsibility with it.
"We just want to keep getting winners."
A couple of hundred horses still need to be worked and raced. There will be It's Somewhat, Old North and Impending looking to add to the group 1 haul in coming months, while the next wave of young horses is coming through. Â
Beadman was the right man to keep the stable rolling. He has worked closely with legends and great trainers – Bart Cummings, John Hawkes, Peter Snowden and even John Moore in Hong Kong. It is experience he has drawn on in the past couple of years.
"You can't work closely with people like Bart and Hawkesy without taking away a lot about the horse," Beadman said. "I have learned things from them without thinking about it."
Beadman speaks of the team needed to run a big stable. The staff are the biggest assets.
"We have a framework we work within – a system – but horses are athletes and they are all individuals," Beadman said. "You need to understand that to get the best out of each horse.
"That's why we talk about the team. You can't do it by yourself.
 "They can see things in horses I might not, so everyone is important in our team. In a stable like this you still need to remember the individual and the athlete."
It may be a team effort but Beadman will be the focus.
After picking up the Hollindale Cup, a group 2, with It's Somewhat for O'Shea on his final day and speaking emotionally about their friendship, less than a week later Beadman will look for his first trainer's trophy at Scone.
He favours Moher in Friday's Scone Cup over Duca Valentinois with both coming out of the Hawkesbury Cup, where the former was runner-up.
"We are taking a number of good chances to Scone and we have been planning it for a while," Beadman said.
"I think Moher is probably the better of our two in the cup. He ran up to win at Hawkesbury, I thought the run just came a bit early for him and he will be at his peak on Friday.
"Duca Valentinois has drawn better and is going to get a better run than he did at Hawkesbury and he is capable of getting in the finish."
Godolphin will be out in force on Saturday and it is the Woodlands Stakes that grabs Beadman's attention.
Almanzora and Epidemic have been under notice as a couple of the better two-year-olds at Godolphin this season but have had limited opportunity until now.
"They both have a real quality about them," Beadman said. "Almanzora won on debut and raced upside down last time and she is much better than that.
"But I have always really like Epidemic. She looks magnificent and had no luck at her only run and I would be surprised if they are not fighting out the finish."
Beadman runs through Godolphin runners and stops as he gets to the Luskin Star Stakes, where Old North continues a preparation it is hoped finishes in the Stradbroke along with Grunderzeit.
"They are both horses that didn't have a lot of luck last time. The extra trip suits Old North and the big track and he is going in the right direction," Beadman said.
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