Michael O'Leary has denied he has fallen out with Davy Russell as he revealed why the jockey hasn't been on board many of his Gigginstown House Stud runners in recent weeks.
With Jack Kennedy injured, the Ryanair boss has been using other jockeys such as Robbie Power and Keith Donoghue to ride some of his top stars.
O'Leary cites Russell's commitments to other horses as one of the reasons behind the decision.
He told the Racing Post" “I don't have a loyalty to any particular jockey, other than the one we prefer to use most, which is Jack and he is injured. That’s not to say Davy won’t be riding for us again. Have I fallen out with him? No. Is he riding many of my horses? No, but there are different reasons for that.
“The reason he wasn’t on Delta Work at Down Royal was because if he turns out to be a Gold Cup horse, Davy will be on Presenting Percy, so why would I put him on him?
“Why wasn’t he on Abacadabras? Well, he will be on Envoi Allen in the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle, and when I was putting Robbie Power on him, I thought I’d put him on Apple’s Jade as well. Robbie is riding out of his skin, so why wouldn’t we use him, and if we take Robbie off Apple’s Jade for Jack, nobody bats an eyelid.
“We put Keith Donoghue on Samcro because he is Jack’s ride, but if we put Davy on him and then take him off, it becomes a big issue because we’ve taken him off. A lot of these horses don't need Davy Russell on them."
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