Going into the Epsom classics weekend champion jockey Ryan Moore was acknowledge as a determined, hard working, if somewhat colourless rider who through sheer hard graft and application had risen to the top of his profession. Now, having won both the Oaks and Derby in tremendous fashion, he has shown to the racing world and beyond, just what true talent he possesses, writes Elliot Slater.
Camera shy and often monosyllabic when interviewed, Moore displayed a grin as wide as the Epsom Downs after threading Snow Fairy through an apparently impossible maze to come from last to first to win the Investec Oaks on Friday. Often perceived as something of a grump, Moore pulled himself together quickly enough and after being asked what winning his first classic meant to him he replied: "Well, it's not the Derby is it?"
24 hours later however it was the Derby as the son of south coast trainer Gary Moore and brother of talented jumps jockey Jamie, rode a perfectly judged race on the mighty Workforce, to come home seven lengths clear of At First Sight in the fastest time ever recorded in the 231-year history of the great race. Many horse racing tips had suggests Workforce would win, but no one expected the victory to be so emphatic.
Moore may well have been highly regarded by those that follow the sport of horse racing on a daily basis, but with this classic double he has now demonstrated his undoubted skills to a huge international audience that extends far beyond the equine world. There was even a hint of a tear in his eye after he pulled up on Workforce and realised the enormity of what he had just achieved. The Timeform horse tips suggest Workforce could go on to even greater things.
Maybe now, having proved to himself that he is a truly great jockey, Ryan Moore might relax a bit and let us see the more human side of a devoted jockey and family man.
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