- This topic has 96 replies, 55 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 4 months ago by
.
- Posts
For what it’s worth I think Chabal will be re-routed to the French Derby with Dettori on board, in search of some better ground, along with Simon de Montfort (nominally trained by al Zarooni) who’ll be ridden by Ajtebi. At Epsom I would imagine that Frankie will ride Al Zir, with Ajtebi on Rewilding.
The Ajtebi experiment will end in tears sooner or later. Having never once sat on a horse I find it difficult to criticise but I am going to anyway. Ajtebi doesn’t seem to get his horses as balanced as they should be and gives them a hard ride when their chance is gone. You can understand why Sheikh Mohammed wants a rider (as well as trainers) from the Emirates but I don’t think Ajtebi is good enough – you only have to look at the rides he picks up (or lack of) for other trainers to see what others think of him.
Crisford confirms Rewilding for Derby
BY JON LEES 10:01AM 27 MAY 2010
REWILDING will be supplemented for the Investec Derby, Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford confirmed on Thursday, and will probably be ridden at Epsom by Frankie Dettori.
The colt, who joined Mahmood Al Zarooni after starting the campaign with Andre Fabre, made an impressive British debut when landing the Cocked Hat Stakes at Goodwood and is a 10-1 chance with bookmakers.
Crisford told Epsom’s Breakfast with the Stars event on Thursday: "We are definitely going to supplement Rewilding. He was very impressive when he won at Goodwood and we think he ticks all the boxes. He has a great temperament, he appears to be bombproof, he definitely stays a mile and a half and he has plenty of class as well.
"The big thing with him is he seems to be improving. He took his race at Goodwood really well, he handled the track and the undulations so we go into Epsom full of hope."
Crisford said a decision over riding arrangements would emerge after Dettori has ridden the Saeed Bin Suroor-trained Al Zir on Friday morning but the jockey was likely to stick with Rewilding.
"It’s quite likely that Frankie will stay on Rewilding," Crisford added. "He gelled really well with him at Goodwood. I think Frankie wants to have a sit on Al Zir anyway tomorrow and after he has ridden him then we will be a little bit wiser."
Crisford said Chabal would be left among the five-day Derby acceptors but would need rain to run, while Simon De Montfort remained more likely to head to the Prix du Jockey Club.
For what it’s worth I think Chabal will be re-routed to the French Derby with Dettori on board, in search of some better ground, along with Simon de Montfort (nominally trained by al Zarooni) who’ll be ridden by Ajtebi. At Epsom I would imagine that Frankie will ride Al Zir, with Ajtebi on Rewilding.
The Ajtebi experiment will end in tears sooner or later. Having never once sat on a horse I find it difficult to criticise but I am going to anyway. Ajtebi doesn’t seem to get his horses as balanced as they should be and gives them a hard ride when their chance is gone. You can understand why Sheikh Mohammed wants a rider (as well as trainers) from the Emirates but I don’t think Ajtebi is good enough – you only have to look at the rides he picks up (or lack of) for other trainers to see what others think of him.
Agree wholeheartedly with those sentiments. Admire Sheikh Mo for a lot of things but his insistence on keeping Ajtebi in the limelight although it is blatantly obvious he will never ever come within a country mile of Frankie’s abilities is puzzling, even considering your point about everything Emirates. I thought the idea is to give your horses the best possible chance to win and that means putting the best rider at your disposal on the best horses. Ajtebi will never make that grade. Thankfully in Rewilding’s case common sense seems to prevail.
"Ajtebi will never make the grade" How many Breeder’s Cup winning jockeys can you say that about? Sounds a little hasty to me.
- Total Posts 17716
Sheik Momo has a lot more ptoblems with his trainers than a jockey like Ajtebi.
Very poor 2yo prep year after year and scores of classy older horses losing form or disappearing altogether in the hands of Suroor. A third rate return on investment at best. I’d love to see Sheik Momo’s annual outlay and return figures and compare them to Khallid, Hamdan, Thompsons and Aga Khan. That would make for a laugh or five. Momos sons aren’t doing much better either.
<b>Barzalona</b> takes over as number one from <b>Frankie</b> End of a great career for the Italian Stallion <b>Where next for him</b>? Could he handle being number 3 i doubt it.
IF this and indeed rumours that Frankie is retiring are true it would be a shame……..I think Frankie could do with a new challenge anyway before he retires.Godolphin have been a bit iffy to say the least for the last few seasons and walking away to be freelance need not be bad news……the problem is that Frankie doesn’t seem to be very hungry so for example emulating what Lester did when he was dumped by Vincent O’Brien/Robert Sangster all those years ago is probably beyond him although with a good agent operating accross Europe he could have a great final quarter to his career……..but does he have the ambition.
The difference is that Frankie will not get "dumped" in the manner that Lester did because, when it comes to their jockeys, the Maktoums show a greater loyalty than most owners. Frankie is probably reaching the point where he realizes that his strength is in decline. At the moment it will not be too bad but once a jockey hits 45 it is much more noticeable. He is still the ultimate jockey at Ascot but his family is far more important to him than horse racing.
According to this interview last year Frankie had no such intentions of retiring until he was 50, so what’s changed or is it just rumour?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/peopl … 76239.htmlThings turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...Please refresh my memory.Was Lester dumped or did he decide that he would ride the pick of Ballydoyle only if he thought they were the best available.Seems to me he came over to test the Ballydoyle horses and decide whether to ride them or not.
The question is not what is wrong with Frankie but what is right with Barzalona? Fallon riding Franciscan made him look ordinary the other day,something that nobody can achieve with Frankie.
It seems that all three of Godolpin’s retained jockeys have equal status. Ray Cochrane’s comments indicate that Frankie welcomes the move, because it will allow him to slow the pace of his working life to suit a forty-one year old married with five children who wants his career to continue for a good few years yet. From the Guardian website:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/may/30/frankie-dettori-mickael-barzalona-godolphin?newsfeed=true
There are many jockeys in the world of racing with age and desire in their favor. Talent is the missing factor in most cases.Are either of the other Godolfin riders as talented as Frankie? I don’t think so.
Given that Barzalona has already won a Derby and a Dubai World Cup, he clearly has a big race mentality and plenty of natural talent. Whether he blossoms into a world class jockey only time will tell. I’m sure you dismissed Mr Dettori with the same lack of vision when he was with Luca Cumani and trying to get bets on in the Rookery.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.