KIERAN SHOEMARK has been kicked off the £500,000 ride on Inspiral – and will be replaced by Ryan Moore.
It comes after Shoemark – John Gosden’s No1 jockey – was given the dreaded vote of confidence by high-profile owners.
Moore gets the leg up on the Cheveley Park Stud-owned mare in the blockbuster Jacques Le Marois in Deauville on Sunday.
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She is going for a third straight win in the race she won the two previous years under Frankie Dettori.
The huge jockey switch comes as pressure continues to mount on cool-headed Shoemark.
He has ridden Inspiral twice this season, finishing fourth in the Lockinge behind stablemate Audience and sixth in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Cheveley Park’s decision to go for Moore over Shoemark came after one of Emily Upjohn’s owners backed Shoemark in a letter to the Racing Post.
Shoemark could finish no better than sixth in the Nassau on Emily Upjohn, who had been smashed into 7-4 fav over eventual winner Opera Singer, who was ridden by Moore.
But one of the mare’s part owners, Jon Shack, said: “As co-owner of Emily Upjohn, I wanted to express my 100 per cent support of Kieran Shoemark, the Gosdens and the Clarehaven team.
“Kieran Shoemark, Robert Havlin, Frankie Dettori and the devoted staff at the Gosdens have all played important parts in the wonderful Emily Upjohn story and drama [which has] allowed me and my family to ‘live the dream’ as racehorse owners at the highest global level.
“Our appreciation of all these participants, plus the mare herself, knows no bounds and we stay positive as the drama unfolds into the future.”
However, Cheveley Park Stud clearly feel differently.
They signalled their intentions earlier this week when confirming they were ‘reviewing their options‘ ahead of picking a jockey for the Group 1.
A failure to publicly back Shoemark there and then suggested the writing was on the wall.
And, speaking on Thursday, their managing director Chris Richardson said: “Ryan Moore rides Inspiral in the Prix Jacques Le Marois on Sunday.
“Ryan has ridden many of our best horses over the years and we are always keen to use him when he is available.”
Aidan O’Brien doesn’t have a runner in the Jacques Le Marois, freeing up Moore.
Gosden is going for an incredible fifth straight win in the race, having claimed it with Palace Pier – again ridden by Dettori – in 2021 and 2020.
Meanwhile, Sun Racing told you Callum Shepherd – famously jocked off Derby runner-up Ambiente Friendly – has been picked over William Buick to ride Quddwah for Simon and Ed Crisford.
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