RACING:THERE MAY be 900 miles between Naas and Milan but even Joseph O'Brien's 7 to 1 double at the Co Kildare track yesterday couldn't prevent speculation about how Frankie Dettori's future employment plans might impact on the Irishman reaching all the way from Italy.
Dettori was in Group One action at San Siro when Godolphin’s announcement came yesterday that the charismatic jockey will no longer be their retained rider, bringing an end to an 18-year link that has been one of the bedrocks of world racing.
After 110 Group One victories together worldwide, the Godolphin statement said the current retainer was “not really working” and confirmed that both Mickael Barzalona and Silvestre De Sousa will wear the famous blue colours next year. It also stressed Dettori was looking for a “fresh challenge”.
The split with Sheikh Mohammed will surprise no one on the back of Dettori’s acceptance of the Arc ride on Camelot earlier in the month for Godolphin’s superpower rival, Coolmore, which effectively burned his bridges to Dubai.
That controversial ‘spare’ was a result of O’Brien’s inability to do a weight under 9st, a persistent issue that will hardly disappear as the 19-year-old gets older.
That the Coolmore master turned to Dettori for Camelot has inevitably resulted in speculation that the world’s most famous jockey may yet firm up an association with the world’s most powerful bloodstock empire for 2013 in what would definitely constitute a fresh challenge.
Nobody was saying anything yesterday although there are also suggestions Dettori’s services could be snapped up instead for the burgeoning player that is Sheikh Fahad Al Thani’s Pearl Bloodstock team. Jamie Spencer has also been mooted as a possible retained rider for the Qataris although Al Thani’s racing manager David Redvers said yesterday: “I think I will be in a position to make an announcement at the end of the week.” Nevertheless Paddy Power offer just 4 to 1 about Dettori replacing O’Brien as number one jockey at Ballydoyle for 2013.
In the midst of it all, O’Brien kept his head down and stretched his lead over Pat Smullen to seven (87-80) in the race for the Irish jockeys title, using all his power to land the prestigious Birdcatcher Nursery on Snow Queen.
The winner had just a head to spare over Ballyorban and Muaanid and O’Brien reported: “We’ve always liked her and she’s starting to show on the track the ability she has shown at home.”
Earlier his father Aidan also supplied Francis Of Assisi to win the juvenile maiden by four lengths from General Direction.
Manieree duly landed 4 to 7 odds in the Listed Garnet Stakes with a minimum of fuss and is likely to be seen next at the Newmarket December Sales.
“She had a serious accident in January and she ended up missing a lot of a year which would have right up her street with all the soft ground,” said John Oxx.
