CAN you remember the last time a jockey divided opinion as much as Kieran Shoemark?
It feels like every week people are on the telly, in the papers or on Twitter saying: “This is a big day for Shoemark.”
He has bagged a couple of Group 3s over the last month, including a lovely ride on Lead Artist at Glorious Goodwood, but the pressure and scrutiny has not gone away.
And, I think it’s fair to say, things have taken a bit of an ugly turn for John Gosden’s No1 over the past few days.
Powerful owners Cheveley Park Stud have jocked him off Inspiral in tomorrow’s Group 1 Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville for Ryan Moore.
That in itself isn’t the biggest shock in the world – Moore rides for them regularly, is one of the best around and he’s available for selection, given Aidan O’Brien doesn’t have a runner.
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But it’s still a huge kick in the goolies for Shoemark and the timing is particularly tough, given he took some pretty serious stick at Goodwood, most notably for his ride on Emily Upjohn in the Nassau Stakes.
His relationship with the top mare has got off to a pretty rocky start. She should have won the Group 1 Pretty Polly in Ireland, a race in which she traded at 1-33 in-running but had to settle for second.
He made an aggressive mid-race move and kicked clear just over two furlongs out… from then on it was like watching a slow motion car crash as Bluestocking mowed her down inside the final 50 yards.
And in the Nassau he never gave her a chance from a poor early position, where she was keen and trapped wide at the rear of the field.
He even went on ITV the next day to respond to the criticism – fair play to him for fronting up, but I can’t remember another jockey feeling the need to do that in the past.
A couple of poor rides don’t make you a bad jock and he is still a very talented rider. Though for my money, he is not of the top echelon.
Whether Cheveley Park like it or not, their decision has only increased the pressure, especially as he didn’t do much wrong in either of Inspiral’s losses so far this summer.
I laid my cards on the table pretty early, May 11 to be exact, when I said I couldn’t see the Shoemark-Gosden alliance standing the test of time.
That’s not because I’ve got an agenda or I’m hopping on some sort of bandwagon. The fit never felt quite right to me.
As I said three months ago, one of my main concerns surrounded the new calibre of owners he would be riding for in the Gosden yard.
They are mostly superwealthy, highly-strung and very successful – so naturally they’re also pretty ruthless.
For years, Frankie Dettori, the ultimate difference-maker on the big days and Shoemark’s predecessor, has ridden their horses.
I’m not comparing the two, but Shoemark is relatively inexperienced on the Group 1 and international stage and he had virtually no credit in the bank with these top owners when he took the job.
If results weren’t great, he was always unlikely to be given much rope. The worry for him is others following suit.
And, I might add, Gosden’s statement following the news wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, simply stating there had been ‘no jockey error’ on Inspiral this year.
It hardly conjured memories of Peter Walwyn backing Pat Eddery and losing 25 of Daniel Wildenstein’s horses as a result.
I’ve not been impressed with the social media pile-on towards people expressing a critical view of Shoemark. One journalist in particular got absolute pelters, but as long as criticism is justified and respectful it is totally fair and an important part of any sport.
For me, Shoemark has handled a tough year with greater professionalism and composure than some of his fans.
Losing the Inspiral ride doesn’t mean it’s over for Shoemark at Clarehaven – but life has just been made tougher.
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