Murtagh Replaces Fallon

It's the pressure of being responsible for the ultimate breeding value of the Coolmore mares and ESP stallions which I'm considering here. That kind of constant pressure is whole different gravy from landing the odd gamble. When he came under under a bit of pressure at Fanshawe's he started not returning calls, etc. Fanshawe terminated the association because Johnny was unreliable - "it was getting messy" was how he put it.

I agree Murtagh is likely to be much more settled now, back at home and with his skills recognised.
I also agree he can be hard to beat in the top races, when he puts it all together. he will never however be a jock I implicitly trust to give a horse the best poss ride - I've seen him ride too many stinkers. I just don't think he's as bright as some of the other top jocks in terms esp of race strategy.
 
I cannot see what “pressure” he could possibly have come under at Fanshaw’s certainly nothing as much as the pressure he would have been under at Oxx’s in the year of Sinndar etc. I don’t buy it for one minute. The pressure of the Coolmore job is over played simply because Spencer was a disaster.
 
Gareth, it was in the race itself, an overreach cut into the tendon. I still feel he should have won had he kept the hrose handier and not overdid the waiting tactics.

Headstong I am interested he was that bad at Fanshawe's.

Gal, Fanshawe trains for Cheveley Park Stud so the pattern class performances of their animals are just as "pressurised" a situation as Coolmore - at Coolmore it is more sustained and intense.

As regards Sinndar it is worth recalling that he started 7/1 for the Derby, and was only second favourite to Montjeu in the Arc so Murtagh was not riding a supposed "banker" in either of those races.

He hardly covered himself in glory on Dylan Thomas in the Breeders Cup or the Hong Kong Vase either!
 
Gareth, why do you say that? Two top class races, Murtagh beaten favourite both times? Why am I making it up?
 
I can think of countless excellent Murtagh pressure rides.

Kalinisi in the BC Turf
Rock of Gibraltar in the 2000 Guineas
Choisir in the Royal Ascot sprints.

Like the lads, I can think of very few mistakes. I am not sure he gave Dylan Thomas the best ride in the world behind Authorized in the Juddmonte.

But not that many others come to mind.
 
Gareth, why do you say that? Two top class races, Murtagh beaten favourite both times? Why am I making it up?
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He never had a chance - the horse wouldn't have won either of those races if they'd have given him wings!
 
Dylan Thomas didn't handle the ground in BC Turf - on firm ground he'd have won that doing back-flips. In the HK Vase he was over the top.
 
We shall see. What is unquestionable is that the role he now has is far more high profile than being John Oxx's stable jockey. Personally, like Headstrong, I would struggle to feel confident in backing a strongly fancied horse he is riding. I hope he copes with the pressure however we have seen him come unstuck before.
 
Murtagh and Fallon with three winners each I believe.

List of big race winners for J Murtagh from Wikipedia

Major winners
Ireland

Irish 2,000 Guineas - (1) - Black Minnaloushe (2001)
Irish Champion Stakes - (1) - Timarida (1996)
Irish Derby - (2) - Sinndar (2000), Alamshar (2003)
Irish Oaks - (4) - Ebadiyla (1997), Winona (1998), Petrushka (2000), Peeping Fawn (2007)
Matron Stakes - (2) - Timarida (1995), Soviet Song (2004)
Moyglare Stud Stakes - (1) - Ebadiya (1998)
National Stakes - (2) - Manntari (1993), Sinndar (1999)
Pretty Polly Stakes - (1) - Takarouna (1993)
Tattersalls Gold Cup - (1) - Notnowcato (2007)

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Great Britain

2,000 Guineas - (1) - Rock of Gibraltar (2002)
Ascot Gold Cup - (3) - Enzeli (1999), Royal Rebel (2001, 2002)
Champion Stakes - (1) - Kalanisi (2000)
Coronation Stakes - (1) - Ridgewood Pearl (1995)
Derby - (3) - Sinndar (2000), High Chaparral (2002), Motivator (2005)
Falmouth Stakes - (3) - Soviet Song (2004, 2005), Simply Perfect (2007)
Fillies' Mile - (1) - Listen (2007)
Golden Jubilee Stakes - (3) - Superior Premium (2000), Choisir (2004), Soldier's Tale (2007)
July Cup - (1) - Frizzante (2004)
King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes - (2) - Alamshar (2003), Dylan Thomas (2007)
Nassau Stakes - (1) - Peeping Fawn (2007)
Queen Anne Stakes - (1) - No Excuse Needed (2002)
Racing Post Trophy - (1) - Dilshaan (2000)
St James's Palace Stakes - (1) - Black Minnaloushe (2001)
Sussex Stakes - (1) - Soviet Song (2004)
Yorkshire Oaks - (3) - Key Change (1996), Petrushka (2000), Peeping Fawn (2007)

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Canada

E. P. Taylor Stakes - (2) - Choc Ice (2001), Mrs Lindsay (2007)

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France

Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp - (1) - Namid (2000)
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - (1) - Sinndar (2000)
Prix du Cadran - (1) - Give Notice (2002)
Prix du Moulin de Longchamp - (1) - Ridgewood Pearl (1995)
Prix de l'Opéra - (2) - Timarida (1995), Petrushka (2000)
Prix Vermeille - (1) - Mrs Lindsay (2007)

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Germany

Bayerisches Zuchtrennen - (2) - Timarida (1996), Greek Dance (2000)

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Hong Kong

Hong Kong Vase - (1) - Daliapour (2000)

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United States

Beverly D. Stakes - (1) - Timarida (1996)
Breeders' Cup Mile - (1) - Ridgewood Pearl (1995)
Breeders' Cup Turf - (1) - Kalanisi (2000)
 
He has won the Epsom Derby on 3 occasions.

Apart from Motivator, Sinndar was 7/1 and High Chapparal (7/2) was the second string and a spare ride. The pressure was not as intense as Kinane faced on Hawk Wing or Quinn for that matter on Beat Hollow.

Motivator was a spare ride picked up when Fallon went AWOL.

How will he fare on a 6/4 Ballydoyle trained Epsom Derby favourite, as stable jockey? I know which button I'd be pressing on Betfair and it ain't blue!
 
Johnny Murtagh is one of the top Big Race Riders in the world. I would put him on any horse any time. I have no doubt he will do well in this role. Personally, i have him as the best jockey around. Bar none.
 
No Gal, quite happy to consider that one.

First of all, I backed Motivator in the Dante and the Derby. Yes, he was favourite. However my point was that it was an outside yard with whom there had been no strong association in the past. Fallon was unavailable, so it was, like High Chaparral, a spare.

In the Eclispse when the horse's class was now known to all, and the SP refelcted this (2/5) he got the worst of a tactical battle with Darryl Holland (ffs!!!!) and, would you believe, one K Fallon, in his first year as the Ballydolye number 1.
 
Whilst I find it bizzare to think that a jockey coming around Tattenham corner with a full horse under him just has to remind himself of his SP to calm his nerves, my point had nothing to do with pressure, but that the Derby is still the single most important race to Coolmore and they've got a jockey who's won it three times and managed a further second and two thirds in the last 8 years. He gets the job done at Epsom.
 
Gareth are you trying to tell me that riding a short priced favourite in the Derby doesn't cause added pressure on the connections of that horse?

The Derby has a tradition for being one of the biggest punted and most viewed races on Earth. Winning it guarantees a signficant inflation of the horse's stud value.

With this in mind the world's media focus on the market leader, and with this comes high levels of expectation which inevitably transmits into pressure on the man charged with the responsibility of bringing the horse home in front.

As I explained earlier, Murtagh's previous victories came either on horses who were not the major fancies, or as with Motivator, a chance spare ride he picked up that season. And as stated already, when he was 2/5 at Sandown the old mental flaws seemed to surface.

When he rides one or more Ballydoyle trained hotpots to victory at Epsom then I will hold my hands up and say you were right.
 
Gareth are you trying to tell me that riding a short priced favourite in the Derby doesn't cause added pressure on the connections of that horse?
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No. Read what I wrote again.

As I explained earlier, Murtagh's previous victories came either on horses who were not the major fancies, or as with Motivator, a chance spare ride he picked up that season. And as stated already, when he was 2/5 at Sandown the old mental flaws seemed to surface.
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Or he just got done by a better 10f horse. Was it just coincidence that the result was repeated at Leopardstown with a different jockey on Motivator? I know you like your coincidences...
 
I must admit I'm confused.

Have I missed something? Are there really people on here saying they couldn't trust Murtagh riding in a big race as he has a habit of cracking under pressure?

I would fully understand any concerns if it was Spencer, or Richard Hills (for example) being talked about in such terms. If I was lucky enough to own a horse running in a Group race or a Classic I would be delighted to have Murtagh on board. Equally I wouldn't be running to find someone else were he to offer to ride one of mine in a Class 6 handicap at Lingfield!
 
In my view Darley gave Motivator a terrible ride that day, and was as much at fault as Murtagh was at Sandown.

You state he has proven he gets the job done around Epsom. Yes he has. My point is that he has only proven this given sets of circumstances that his mental state permitted him to cope with. Brian Taylor won a Derby on Snow Knight, did that make him worth of being M V O B's stable jockey?

This season will tell us a lot about Murtagh's mental power and whether he has truly put the demons out of his mind.
 
I don't think anyone has suggested that! - his record speaks for itself

It's the *sustained* pressure of a high profile job where a multi-billion operation is dependent on YOU getting it right, and where your every move and ride is going to be under a very insistent microscope, which worries a few of us [none of us Irish I note LOL]. He's always been a bit too error prone in my book, and yes that is my pocket talking! - I loved him before I started punting :rolleyes: now I'm less enamoured. About 3/4 seasons back he was constantly getting boxed in, in important races, both here in the UK and in Ireland. Did my head in!

But I agree he's better in the really big races than in run of the mill ones, and he's been much better since he went back home to Ireland. The pressures of *this* job - and they ARE there ffs - will either bring out the very best in him or he will crack under it. He's cracked under less pressure before - in general or personal terms, not in individual races. But he seems a changed individual in the last year or so. Happy marriage and home life etc etc? - mental maturity, financial stability? who knows?

I hope he'll succeed, of course I do. After all at his stage of his career that kind of financial backing and security will set him up for life, and with a sizeable young family that must be one less thing to worry about in the morning :eek:
 
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