Do you honestly think he gets to choose? AOB will put whichever jockeys on whatever horses he decides. How many times do you see an O'Brien 'outsider' turn over the fancied runner. It's a proper fiddle and horses from that yard are best off left well alone
I don’t think Moore really cares, he’s got the best job in racing. Aob likes to share them around Moore will get his quota of group ones. It could be worse he could be riding for the boys in royal blue.
I am not sure if Moore genuinely has the choice. Last year he missed a Guineas winner in Saxon Warrior. The back story was that Ryan Moore had always wanted to win the Kentucky Derby and chose to partner Mendelssohn in the USA because the run for the roses was the race he most wanted to win in the world. As it transpired, Mendelssohn was a fish out of water, almost literally, and O'Brien junior was left to land the 2000 Guineas that didn't seem to be of interest to Mr Moore. I think most jockeys would probably select the horse deemed to be the fastest when selecting from multiple options in a race. On other occasions it can be impossible to predict that one of the ones you discarded will pop up out of the blue. Wings Of Eagles had run behind Venice Beach (Now called Our Venice Beach in Australia) in the Chester Vase and had shown nothing that suggested he would win the Derby. I always felt Frankie was as bad as anyone in making a choice for a race. He abandoned Golden Horn in the Dante in favour of Jack Hobbs only to see the backside of William Buick whooshing past. Lucky Lanfranco was back on board Golden Horn for the Derby and was fortunate to have regained the ride having shunned the colt in the trial.
If I was the Coolmore trainer and I could engineer it so my son got the winning ride in a Classic rather than a hired hand (albeit a very good one) then I would do it. Obviously in the 1000 Guineas the old brother made a better case for his horse though than the ol man .
Totally disagree with your assessment of Wings of Eagles. I backed that horse in the Derby purely on his run in the Chester Vase. It was a brilliant ride by Heffernan who,for the most part,was content to be in the last two until the straight when he picked up his stick and gave his horse ONE crack, he then put his stick down and rode the horse - hands and heels- to the line. If the object was to win the race Heffernan could have done so. Have a look at the recording of the race on you tube,just enter Chester Vase 2017. I agree that jockeys are often bad judges,the one exception being Steve Cauthen, the finest jockey I have ever seen - and that includes Piggott and Eddery His relationship with Cecil was remarkable. His ability to articulate the merits of a horse to the trainer was uncanny,It was Cauthen who told Cecil, after Oh so sharp won the 1000 guineas that he should run her in the Oaks. I doubt that Ryan Moore enjoys the relationship with O'Brien that Cauthen had with Cecil. Whether by accident or design Moore has a terrible record of picking the wrong horse,something that I cannot recall Cauthen ever doing.[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE] I watched the Chester Vase on the day and I felt Wings Of Eagles was struggling to handle the trackgive . His head was heavily cocked to one side and when the jockey did give him a smack he seemed to veer a bit wider. It looked that the jockey decided to put the whip down and Wings Of Eagles straightened up, keeping on better for it. For me it's stretching it slightly to say the jockey could have won. If that were the case he should have been done for cheating. I had an ante-post bet on Venice Beach for the St Leger that season and after watching the Chester Vase I said to fans of Venice Beach for the Derby that he wasn't good enough for Epsom. The Chester Vase is a pretty lousy trial for the Derby of late. Ruler Of The World followed up at Epsom but he was one of the worst winners ever. You need to go way back to Shergar to find a colt who won both races. Speaking from my own point of view I didn't fancy Wings Of Eagles at all, as well as stablemate Venice Beach, so it is hard to think that Ryan Moore should have selected the 40/1 winner. As it was, Ryan's horse was second, beaten 3/4 of a length, so it was hardly a glaring error. I was on Cracksman at 14/1 ante-post and will always wonder how the Gosden horse was not a a double Derby winner, having managed to get beaten by the slowish Capri in the Irish version. I was a big fan of Steve Cauthen myself but the howler that sticks in my mind with him was riding Suhailie for Henry Cecil in the Racing Post Trophy in 1986. Pat Eddery came in to take the ride on the rejected Reference Point. I had quite a heavy bet on Suhailie that day, trusting Cauthen's judgement but he never showed up as Reference Point hosed in. Luckily for the Kentucky Kid, he was back on board at Epsom as Reference Point earned his place in the history books. Again, it all depends how much say Moore actually has but he's no angel. Anyone who remembers Minding winning the Oaks will note that the filly got the jockey out of trouble after an awful, "Head up the ass", tactical ride. Waiting on Minding for the Guineas/Oaks double, I nearly had my hands through the TV trying to slap Moore's face to wake him up.
I watched the Chester Vase on the day and I felt Wings Of Eagles was struggling to handle the trackgive . His head was heavily cocked to one side and when the jockey did give him a smack he seemed to veer a bit wider. It looked that the jockey decided to put the whip down and Wings Of Eagles straightened up, keeping on better for it. For me it's stretching it slightly to say the jockey could have won. If that were the case he should have been done for cheating. I had an ante-post bet on Venice Beach for the St Leger that season and after watching the Chester Vase I said to fans of Venice Beach for the Derby that he wasn't good enough for Epsom. The Chester Vase is a pretty lousy trial for the Derby of late. Ruler Of The World followed up at Epsom but he was one of the worst winners ever. You need to go way back to Shergar to find a colt who won both races. Speaking from my own point of view I didn't fancy Wings Of Eagles at all, as well as stablemate Venice Beach, so it is hard to think that Ryan Moore should have selected the 40/1 winner. As it was, Ryan's horse was second, beaten 3/4 of a length, so it was hardly a glaring error. I was on Cracksman at 14/1 ante-post and will always wonder how the Gosden horse was not a a double Derby winner, having managed to get beaten by the slowish Capri in the Irish version. I was a big fan of Steve Cauthen myself but the howler that sticks in my mind with him was riding Suhailie for Henry Cecil in the Racing Post Trophy in 1986. Pat Eddery came in to take the ride on the rejected Reference Point. I had quite a heavy bet on Suhailie that day, trusting Cauthen's judgement but he never showed up as Reference Point hosed in. Luckily for the Kentucky Kid, he was back on board at Epsom as Reference Point earned his place in the history books. Again, it all depends how much say Moore actually has but he's no angel. Anyone who remembers Minding winning the Oaks will note that the filly got the jockey out of trouble after an awful, "Head up the ass", tactical ride. Waiting on Minding for the Guineas/Oaks double, I nearly had my hands through the TV trying to slap Moore's face to wake him up.[/QUOTE] Even the greatest jockeys get it wrong. As very young punter in 1960 I watched Piggott make a real pigs ear on the filly Petite Etoile [2/5] in the King George vi at Ascot. Jimmy Lindley on a horse called Aggressor made Piggott look like a fool. - and don't get me started on the ride Eddery gave to El Gran Senor in the 1984 derby - he cost me a fortune that day.
