James Doyle to ride for Godolphin in Australia

ATR
James Doyle
James Doyle

James Doyle will ride for Godolphin in Australia while retained jockey James McDonald continues to be investigated over an alleged betting offence.

McDonald has stood himself down from riding after he was charged with either betting on, or being involved with a bet, on one of his mounts at Randwick last year.

Doyle recently lost his role as first-choice jockey to Godolphin trainer Saeed bin Suroor, but is expected to take up riding duties for Sheikh Mohammed's powerful Australian team in early December.

He said: "I have really enjoyed my visits to Melbourne and Sydney to ride for Godolphin in feature races like the Golden Slipper and Cox Plate over the past two seasons.

"This is a great opportunity to spend more time in Australia and I am looking forward to the challenge."

Henry Plumptre, Godolphin's managing director in Australia, said in a statement: "While we continue to support James McDonald over the period of the investigation, we also have a racing stable to run and James Doyle, who is a retained jockey for Godolphin, is one of the best jockeys in the world.

"With the winter recess in the UK, he is available to ride in Australia for Godolphin and Sheikh Mohammed and we are delighted to have him."

Godolphin's principal Australian trainer John O'Shea said Doyle was the "consummate professional".

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Source: At The Races

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Edited by Staff Editor