Best available policy bearing fruit

By Alan Conway

Another Irish Guineas weekend at the Curragh goes by and yet again another clean sweep in the Group 1’s for the Coolmore/Ballydoyle axis. Last weekend however was unique as the three Group 1’s were captured by three different jockeys. It would appear that the policy of using the best available jockey is working down in Tipperary.

When Johnny Murtagh left the Ballydoyle hot seat there was feverish speculation as to who would inherit the biggest job in flat racing. At the outset both Ryan Moore and Pat Smullen ruled themselves out of the job stating that they were both happy with their current respective jobs.

The speculation then turned to within Ballydoyle. For a period is seemed to the outside world that Colm O’Donoghue would make the step up to become stable jockey. That didn’t happen and when the confirmation came that Ballydoyle would use the best available I worried.

I was sceptical at the outset and I thought it wouldn’t work. To me you need a stable jockey in an operation like Ballydoyle. But Ballydoyle have been proved right yet again. Aside from Recital in the Ballysax and Roderic O’Connor in the 2000 Guineas, the Aidan O’Brien team have started the 2011 flat season in red hot form. They captured three Group races at the May meeting in Chester and they brought that fine form to the Curragh last weekend.

Granted, one of the Group 1’s was a penalty kick for them as So You Think won the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the cramped odds of 1-7. He still had to win the race and did so in pleasing style. It was a first Group 1 in Europe for So You Think and a first Group 1 for Ballydoyle in Ireland for Ryan Moore who has benefited more than most from Ballydoyle’s decision to choose the best available. He has come in for the majority of big race rides at Ballydoyle this season. Along with So You Think, Moore has partnered St Nicholas Abbey and Await The Dawn to Group race success this season.

It’s clear that Moore is held in high regard by the people in Coolmore but where I feel that their choice of using the best available will present them with a problem is when Ryan Moore is retained to ride one of Sir Michael Stoute’s horses in a Group 1.

Take for instance the King George at Ascot. Both So You Think and Workforce could be in the starting line-up. Moore will be retained for the ride on Workforce meaning a new jockey would have to be found for So You Think.

You just have to wonder how the best available policy will affect the Coolmore/Ballydoyle team during the high summer when many of the top jockey’s will be claimed by other stables. At the moment the policy is working to good effect but how long the situation will remain stable is anyone’s guess

By Alan Conway