http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-racing/moore-to-leave-stoute-for-obrien-job/931654/ I will comment more later but a pretty big bit of news again! Have the new whip rules pushed him across the Irish Sea? Very interesting development.
Zenyatta I don't know Moore but is it not a case of him being able to ride only quality animals, earn similar/more more money, and work far less ? On that basis I doubt anyone could deny Moore that he's made the same decision we all would - of course I could be way off mark...
I think this has been on the cards since the "informal" arrangement was started at the beginning of the season. He may actually have been approached prior to this season and maybe the fact that Workforce was still in training persuaded him to stay with SMS for another year. Notwithstanding his injury it has been a pretty poor year for Moore and we have had a good thread on the poor season SMS has endured. By moving to O'Brien he will be riding much better horses and have a much higher chance of winning Group 1s. I don't think the whip issue played any part in this whatsoever.
This is abit of a kick in the bollocks to SMS, im sure he feels very let down. It will be interesting to see who gets the job for SMS now, I fancy Fallon will probably get it, though you never know he could want a younger guy, like De Sousa or Hanagan
Not really a surpise is it? But of the face of it seems a bit unfair on the Stoute stable who have stood by Moore for a few yars now, but we dont know the ins and outs of this deal. Wonder how many rides O'Briens son will get now? This decision, in my opinion, seems to have came from above O'Brien as i think he would have happily continued to use his son, heffernan and the others if he could have. Bit of a slap in the face for Heffernan as well who has stepped up to the plate this year and shown he is capable of winning the races
I don't think the whip rules will have been a major consideration by any means. I was just suggesting that they might have been that final little push. In my own opinion i doubt it was very significant at all. I think it has been on the cards. Stoute has had a poor year and O'Brien has a lot of good horses, as ever, to look forward to. Moore has always said that he is more interested in winning the big races than winning the Jockey's Championship. And working for O'Brien is therefore a perfect move. If he is to be based in Ireland then he will almost certainly win the Irish version, and is sure to scoop up at least a few of the big British prizes along the way. Stoute has relatively few promising 2yos to look forward to as 3yos where as O'Brien has Maybe/Wading/Daddy Long Legs/Power/etc. There are plenty of Classic prospects and, as Moore himself has said, that is what he is all about. I think he is the perfect man for the job too. He is widely regarded as the best jockey around. Plus he is quiet which suits the Coolmore team, because then they can do all the talking. He is also one who is likely to be able to handle the pressure. On a side note, the story still seems to be somewhat speculative. It has been reported in the papers but apparently it has yet to be actually confirmed. I am sure that it would not have reached this stage if there was no truth in it though.
I gather that the Coolmore boys were not particularly impressed with his effort in the Arc! At the end of the day Heffernan and O'Donoghue are good jockeys and Joseph is very promising. But Ballydoyle is a world class stable and surely they should have a world class jockey to ride for them as well. Moore fits the bill very nicely.
I blame the new whip rules Hardly a surprise and it may be the kick SMS needs to get his stable back to where it should be. I personally would love to see him hand the rides to either SDS or even the dual Group 1 winning Turner. However I fear it will be over to the old dog Fallon
Hardy I think young Joseph is struggling more and more to do the weight of a flat jockey (he has put up overweight countless times this season, some would say that has cost him a few victories). As regards Heffernan, there are enough horses in the Ballydoyle operation for him to have plenty of good rides next season, but for me Moore is by far the better jockey and he's the one you want on your top animals in G1 races (especially when you are businessmen like "the lads" )
Looks like the RP (and papers) may have been a bit hasty. Rumours being denied left right and centre.
Nass......There is no way in a million years SMS would employ Hayley Turner as his stable jockey. She is a decent jockey, but don't get carried away because she's had a couple of days in the sun this season. She is not even in the top 20 jockeys riding in the UK
Aidan O'Brien was talking to Matt Chapman on ATR this afternoon about the prospects of his horses tomorrow, but apparently it was on the express understanding that Chappers wouldn't mention the Ryan Moore situation. If this was a non-story then O'Brien would have just denied it. The fact that he didn't want to talk about it means that things are probably at a "delicate" stage. You can't blame Moore for leaving Stoute. It's been a terrible year for him. There's a thin line between loyalty and stupidity, and Moore would be stupid if he didn't take the opportunity to ride for Ballydoyle. Every jockey wants to ride the best horses and there ain't much chance of that if he continues to ride for Stoute.
I reckon she should get the top job with the BBC after her performance today. She was coherent and amiable, and she put Willie Carson to shame with her punditry, and she's a lot better looking than him as well.
