Murtagh at Ballydoyle

Sheikh said:
I don't think there's much doubt that O'Donoghue had leap frogged Heffernan.

The more I think about it if it's not going to be O'Donoghue , Buick is the man (or boy) . They need a settled team and someone that can be moulded. The older guys are to set in there ways (nothing wrong with that) Buick has the talent and appears to have the temperment.
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Surely too soon after going to Gosden .
 
They'll want a robot...someone who follows detailed orders. The internal candidates will be best in this area.

The problem is, that they might be a bit weak on the communication skills required after the races have been won to talk to the press and "big up" the capabilities of the beast they have just ridden.

Interesting state of affairs. I am sure the money men are scratching their heads and wondering how things managed to end up like this.
 
There's no way Buick will leave Gosden's yet after the year he's had. It's the best job he could have right now, he might leave in a couple of years after a quiet season but not yet.

I actually think he is the best jockey riding in the UK at the moment by a comfortable margin, he never puts a foot wrong and always delivers in the big races too.

He's arguably too media friendly too which is why Moore is the perfect man for the job!
 
Also, if you believe everything you hear and read, Buick is the heir to Dettori's throne at Godolphin.
 
Willian Buick is one of those that should be a million. I"ve said all along that the talented young jockeys in the UK would not see Coolmore as a step up but a restraint on their progress. Spencer or Fallon are the only possible alternatives to using the best available on the day and Heffernan and O"Donoghue at home.
 
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Besides James Willoughy writing a load of waffle on page 4 of todays Rachng Post they have Christophe Soumillion"s best achievement for APOB as winning the Prix Ganay. Did they forget he won the King George? Time to sack the editor of the Irish version of the paper.
 
krizon said:
Not Dettori, Hughes, Moore, R. Hills, Jimmy Fortune, Kieren Fallon, Tom Queally, Chris Soumillon, Ollie Peslier or any other top French pilots, and I think we can discount any Japanese. Presumably no-one from Oz or South Africa. Seb is tied to Sir Mark. Would they think of trying to lure William Buick, or does he feel tied by gratitude to where he is?

Others are probably too old, like Jimmy Quinn, albeit a damn fine horseman. Others like George Baker or Chris Catlin, both very good, but probably still too untested at the top levels.

What about Eddie Ahern?
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Sorry, Kriz, I was trying to express surprise that you mention 15 jockeys in connection with a job in Ireland and not one of them is Irish based. Declan McDonogh, Pat Smullen and Fran Berry would have claims as least as strong as the weaker half of your list.
 
Gearoid said:
Besides James Willoughy writing a load of waffle on page 4 of todays Rachng Post they have Christophe Soumillion"s best achievement for APOB as winning the Prix Ganay. Did they forget he won the King George? Time to sack the editor of the Irish version of the paper.
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When did this happen please? :p
 
Some Fabre bloke apparently.:lol: How did he sneak into training at Ballydoyle.
 
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Ah, I see now, Grey... well, to be frank with you, I honestly don't know who's based where these days! (Shock, horror!) With the comings and goings across the border and switches between camps which goes on, I didn't know that Eddie wasn't in Ireland. I know he did keep an apartment there and also hunt there, but since he split from his wife, I wasn't sure where he was. Of course, being home-bred and home-based makes total sense, but if the word is that Aidan is obsessive/compulsive about every detail - and it seems he is! - then perhaps some wouldn't enjoy such restraints. Freelancing pays off when you are the first point of call for two or three really good trainers - some of whom will credit you with having learned something along the way, and being able to work the race perfectly well without a furlong-by-furlong set of instructions.

You see AOB, fantastical trainer as he is, still grooming the horses in the saddling boxes, fussing away putting on all the tack (okay, many trainers still do tack up), then barely able to pull himself away from the horse, and you do worry that this is a man for whom detail is addictive. Not that attention to it, to a degree, hasn't earned him enough trophies to sink a battleship, but even so... ! It would be an honour to ride for Coolmore on one hand, but on the other it could be the death knell to ideas and imagination. Three or four years, perhaps, and then you might feel you were imprisoned by a regime.
 
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Buick is too young and he's best off under the protection of Gosden.

Hughes, did he not get fed up with the Abdullah job? Why would he go away from his perfect job to ride for Coolmore?

Weld was laying the law down quickly. Unlike in the Kinane days, he has no heir apparent this time. Leigh Roche is just starting and gary Carroll has not ridden enough for him. Maybe in 3/4 years time when the next musical chairs come around, Smullen will move to Ballydoyle but he needs to get a lot more international Group 1 experience. I'd also imagine that Weld will get more horses from Abdullah and Mohammed next season given that he's done well with those he's had.

Not sure where that leaves us. Most of the jocks are simply not good enough for the top job in racing (even if others think it's not) where the pressure is immense. They may adopt a holding approach if their man is not ready for another year due to current commitments.
 
According to the RP online ce soir, Pat Smullen has said no, thanks. So that winnows decent home-breds down even further. I can see a call going out to Brazil any time soon...
 
Cantoris said:
Buick is too young and he's best off under the protection of Gosden.

Hughes, did he not get fed up with the Abdullah job? Why would he go away from his perfect job to ride for Coolmore?

Weld was laying the law down quickly. Unlike in the Kinane days, he has no heir apparent this time. Leigh Roche is just starting and gary Carroll has not ridden enough for him. Maybe in 3/4 years time when the next musical chairs come around, Smullen will move to Ballydoyle but he needs to get a lot more international Group 1 experience. I'd also imagine that Weld will get more horses from Abdullah and Mohammed next season given that he's done well with those he's had.

Not sure where that leaves us. Most of the jocks are simply not good enough for the top job in racing (even if others think it's not) where the pressure is immense. They may adopt a holding approach if their man is not ready for another year due to current commitments.
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Cantoris your not Buicks Dad (are you :ninja:) You say yourself that there is no heir apparent which leads us back to Buick. If Coolmore have an eye on the future than Buick is there man/boy. If they can't lure a young chap like Buick to Ballydoyle their stock has really fallen or Aidans obsessive compulsive disorder has reached legendary status in the weighing room.
 
I've long [privatly] questioned the O'Brien attention to detail, but it occurred to me that the pressure of the organisation he works for makes it even worse? That pressure to succeed for most people in racing is rather huge, but at Ballydoyle it must be even worse. I had it in my head earlier this year that Aidan might go back to the jumps sooner rather than later, and someone mentioned that they thought he was building his own stables somewhere.
 
David Johnson mentioned on another thread that Jamie Spencer's winners in the UK are in decline every year. He would probably jump at the job at the moment. I've added him at 14/1 & 12/1.




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I've honestly lost count. He's had some right purple patches in his career though.

Who do you think might get it Galileo?
 
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