THE TIMES
22nd August 2024
Ryan Moore has “only” ridden 38 winners this season, Oisin Murphy leads the pack with 151 and two others have topped the century. But with £6,354,000 of prize money banked already his horses are way ahead in the prize money league and yesterday’s Yorkshire Oaks on Content showed you why.
Part of this, of course, comes from riding the Ballydoyle horses trained, like Content yesterday and City Of Troy, Los Angeles and Lion In Winter by the genius that is Aidan O’Brien. But there are three other key elements which have seen him recognized as the world’s greatest jockey: acute tactical intelligence, a ruthless will to win, and great physical strength.
That last quality was much needed yesterday. The three year old filly Content is a daughter of the flying sprinter Mecca’s Angel and for the first half of the Yorkshire Oaks she appeared to be taking the cue from her mother rather than her legendary Derby winning sire Galileo. Stripped off Moore has something of a boxer’s torso and as his stablemate Port Fairy led them at a steady gallop, every sinew of the jockey’s body was strained against Content’s determination to burn a hole in the distance.
The situation seemed to be only made worse when Port Fairy continued to slow the pace clocking furlongs of 12.23, 12.98 and 12.26 seconds running up to the straight. But hard though Content fought Moore continued to lock he down and, if she hadn’t squandered all her energy, events unrolling began to show you his plan.
Because besides the outsider Mistral, Port Fairy was being followed by the very talented Emily Upjohn who in turn was being stalked by Content’s Irish Oaks conqueror Go To Me. As the runners flattened for the line Emily Upjohn was inevitably committed nearly three furlongs from home and that is a long, long way from the safety of the line.
Emily Upjohn is a top class performer and for a while it looked as if she had got her rivals in trouble. But from 11.56 and 11.60 furlong are hard to sustain. You Got To Me got to her first but she had followed Emily Upjohn up the centre of the track. Maestro Moore had stuck to the inside rail. Within Content Galileo’s genes gave strength and in the last 50 yards she had it by three quarters of a length with Emily Upjohn another length away third.
It had been nothing short of a masterclass. ““My only thinking in the race,” said the perfectionist jockey, “was to try and get her to relax, which I didn’t achieve, and then it was a case of making the best of a bad situation. She’s a typical Galileo, she’s very brave and tried hard.”
Galileo died two years ago but Content was his 100th Group One winner worldwide, something not achieved by any other stallion. He was also Aidan O’Brien’s first Derby winner and the trainer joked afterwards that without him he would be back training jumpers.
In the meantime Galileo’s daughter may well be aimed at the Arc. Wherever she goes, she is with Ryan Moore, and unlikely to lack help from the saddle.