Ryan Moore To Bypass York Ebor Saturday To Ride at The Curragh

Leading jockey Ryan Moore has had a top midweek at the York Ebor Festival – which climaxed with City Of Troy breaking the track record in the Juddmonte International on Wednesday – however, he won’t be on the Knavesmire this Saturday.

Ryan Moore Won’t Ride At York On Saturday

The world’s top rider, Ryan Moore, WON’T be in action on the final day at York this Saturday, despite trainer Aidan O’Brien having the expected favourite (Queenstown) in the Ebor Handicap – the Europe’s richest horse racing flat handicap contest.

Instead, Moore will be heading back to Ireland for four rides at the Curragh – which include the unbeaten Bedtime Story in the Group Two Alpha Centauri Debutante Stakes – a race Aidan O’Brien has won four times since 2015.

James Doyle To Ride Aidan O’Brien’s Queenstown In Saturday’s Ebor Handicap

So, with Moore hot-footing to the Curragh on Saturday this has led to trainer Aidan O’Brien looking for another rider to partner his Ebor Handicap fancy – Queenstown.

O’Brien has only landed the Ebor once in the past and that came back in 2001 with a horse called Mediterranean but looks to have a top chance of adding to that with Queenstown.

This 4 year-old was last seen running a length second to his classy cup horse stablemate – Kyprios – back in May and with three months off has been freshened up with this race clearly in mind (watch below).

Jockey James Doyle has been handed the ride as the Wathnan Racing number one rider looks for his first success in the Ebor.

Related: Key Ebor Handicap Trends and Stats

Ryan Moore Curragh Rides On Saturday (24th August, 2024)

Ryan Moore, who was also voted the best jockey in the world by AI software ChatGPT, will head to the Curragh in Ireland on Saturday for just four rides.

1:45 Curragh – Officer:

Unraced son of Dubawi, who can be expected to be well-forward for his racecourse debut here. Ryan Moore and Aidan O’Brien also teamed up to take this race in 2022 with Continuous.

The horse also has some fancy future entries after this that include the Group Two Royal Lodge Stakes and Beresford Stakes, plus also holds a place in the Group One Dewhurst Stakes on 12th October, to suggest connections feel Officer is another horse with a lot of potential.

3:30 Curragh – Henri Matisse:

This Wooton Bassett colt has hit the ground running with two wins from his opening two starts – both coming here at the Curragh.

The most recent was a 1/2 length success in the Group Two Railway Stakes (watch below) at the end of June and looks the sort to have more to come now upped to 7f (from 6f).

O’Brien also loves this race – winning the Irish EBF Futurity Stakes a massive 8 times in the last 10 years – including with his classy Henry Longfellow 12 months ago.

After this connections will be eyeing up the Middle Park and Royal Lodge – where Henri Matisse has got entries, as well as the Vincent O’Brien National Stakes back here at the Curragh on September 15th.

4:05 Curragh – Bedtime Story:

The likely reason Ryan Moore is heading to the Curragh on Saturday and not staying at York is to ride the exciting Bedtime Story, who is the current 1,000 Guineas antepost favourite for 2025.

She has won all three of her starts to date in impressive fashion, with her most recent an easy 3 1/2 length win in the Group Three Silver Flash Stakes at Leopardstown.

While prior to that win, this Frankel filly went into many a notebook after her scintillating 9 1/2 length win in the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot in June (watch below).

O’Brien has won the Alpha Centauri Debutante Stakes four times since 2015, and it will be a one of the shocks of the weekend if he’s not adding to those stats this Saturday with Bedtime Story.

After this the filly has entries in the Moyglare Stud Stakes back here at the Curragh and also in the Newmarket Fillies’ Mile – to name just a few.

4:40 Curragh – Fighter:

The final Ryan Moore Curragh ride this Saturday will be on another Frankel prodigy – Fighter, who is having his fourth career run.

However, the horse is yet to get his head in front, with a third last time out at Limerick his best placing to date.

That last race came over 1m 4 1/2f but is dropped back to 1m2f here, which should be more up his street on breeding.

It’s also worth noting the jockey that rode him the last day (Mark Crehan) dropped his whip in the race, plus that outing was his first for 259 days so can also be expected to have improved for it.

Moore Guided City Of Troy To Record-Breaking Juddmonte International Win

Ryan Moore has had a cracking week at the Ebor Festival – winning three of the opening day races, which also included a record breaking success on City Of Troy in the Juddmonte International.

The Epsom Derby and Coral-Eclipse winner become only the second horse (after Sea The Stars) to also win the Juddmonte International in their 3 year-old seasons, and in the process also smashed Sea The Star’s track record by almost a second.

You can see the full race below, with Ryan Moore toughing it out from the front and in the process taking City Of Troy’s career earnings to £2,383,614.

Next stop for the horse trainer Aidan O’Brien has declared the “best he’s trained” could be a trip to the Breeders’ Cup Classic in America on November 2nd.

City Of Troy, who is the son of US Triple Crown winner Justify, is currently around 4/1 with the best horse racing betting sites in the UK for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.