Has Robert Havlin ridden a Group 1 winner for John Gosden?

The short answer is no, he hasn’t. In fact, Robert ‘Rab’ Havlin has never ridden a Group 1 winner, not for John Gosden – who, since early 2021, has held a joint licence with his son, Thady – or any other trainer. That said, at the last count, Havlin had ridden a total of 583 winners for Gosden, including 45 for the recently established partnership in 2021. Those victories include 18 at Pattern Race level, the most recent of which was Megallan in the Group 3 Sovereign Stakes at Salisbury in August, 2021.

Havlin, 47, is into the veteran stage of his career, but was stable apprentice at Manton Park, Wiltshire when Gosden succeeded Peter Chapple-Hyam as private trainer to Robert Sangster in late 1999. In the interim, he has developed into a highly accomplished horseman and remains a pivotal member of the Gosdens’ staff at Clarehaven Stables in Newmarket. The Scotsman rode his one and only Royal Ascot winner, Ardad, in the Windsor Castle Stakes in June, 2016. Fittingly, he reached the career landmark of 1,000 winners on another Gosden-trained horse, Pitcher’s Point, at Lingfield in March, 2020.

At that point, Havlin paid tribute to Gosden, saying, ‘The second half of my career has been a lot better than the first! I’ve got John Gosden to thank for that, he’s been an unbelievable friend and supporter for a long time and it’s down to him.’