FRANKIE DETTORI has officially lost the £2.7million ride on a horse who made him go ‘wow’.
The world’s most famous jockey has been replaced by Kieran Shoemark on Emily Upjohn for Saturday’s mega-money Dubai Sheema Classic.
PADettori celebrates after winning on Emily Upjohn… but won’t be riding her in the mare’s biggest race of her career[/caption]
Dettori was unlucky not to win the Oaks on the John and Thady Gosden-trained mare in 2022 but then rode her to consecutive Grade 1 successes in the British Champion Fillies & Mares Stakes and Coronation Cup.
It was after the latter that Dettori replied ‘wow’ when asked about her performance at Epsom.
Yet, despite that success, it is Shoemark who will be aboard in her biggest race yet on Saturday afternoon.
The Gosdens have sent the Andrew Lloyd Webber-owned five-year-old to the 1m4f contest in the Middle East.
Emily Upjohn will go head to head with former Derby hero Auguste Rodin and is 8-1 third-fav to bring the massive pot – worth £2.7m to the winner – home.
Aidan O’Brien’s star four-year-old is 3-1 second-fav while it’s Japanese horse Liberty Island who heads the market at 9-4.
But it is interesting that Gosdens have turned their back on Dettori completely after he left the UK for the States at the end of last year.
Dettori memorably performed a retirement U-turn to head off to Santa Anita in California after his final rides at Ascot on Champions Day last October.
He produced a miracle on King Of Steel but had spent the season riding mostly for the Gosden father-son duo.
Sun Racing told you the Gosdens were looking to hire Shoemark – who thought his life was over as a drink and drug addict – to replace Dettori.
And this is arguably their biggest vote of confidence in his abilities yet.
Especially as it could have been easy to put Dettori on Emily Upjohn given he is in Dubai for four rides on Saturday, including the mount of Lord North in the 1m Dubai Turf.
But explaining the decision, John Gosden said: “Frankie is now based in the US so it makes sense for Kieran Shoemark to take the ride on Emily Upjohn in Dubai.
“He will be riding her for the rest of the season.”
Dettori has enjoyed a fine season in the US although narrowly avoided serious injury in a nasty spill after winning a £50,000 race earlier this month.
PAShoemark, left, has replaced Dettori, right, on Emily Upjohn[/caption]
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