mick kinane best around ?

fr wishy washy

anybody else think he's still the best flat jockey around despite his age (46 i think).

there's no finer judge of pace and very strong in a driving finish .
(btw,i'm not talking through my pocket as i did'nt back either of his last gp1 wins)

fade2black

Himself and Fallon are on top of the pile looking down upon the rest of them

Morgans

Dettori, despite being a bit of a prima donna rode the socks off Fallon last year. When he is up for it, there is noone better than Dettori. You can count the mistakes that Philip Robinson has made on horses on one hand, not as stylish as Frankie.

Fallon is strong but not always the most tactically aware - I dont suppose anyone here remembers Bosra Sham or the infamous Top Cees - in general he is worth having on your side, but like McCoy, he may be the most determined on a horse, but that doesnt equate to being the best. Fallon is brilliantly strong.

Harsh facts are if Kinane was the best around, he would still be riding for Ballydoyle. It is great to see him still going and riding good horses in big races - he won his first irish classic 23 years ago - but his ride on Rock of Gibraltar in the Breeders Cup plus harsh criticism he received for Giant's Causeway defeat in the Breeders Cup Classic probably cost him his job. (frankie lost a BC race on Swain also, but he showed who was the daddy last year - the first time he tried to win the jockeys championship in the first time in five/six years.

fr wishy washy

Morgans wrote:

Harsh facts are if Kinane was the best around, he would still be riding for Ballydoyle. It is great to see him still going and riding good horses in big races -.

i honestly think that A.P O B et al moved too quickly on that score.
granted the 2 stateside races you mentioned were not his best but we're all fallible on occasions.

If you remember the season that preceded his departure (mj k) that ap's horses were definitely a sub-standard bunch by the Ballydoyle yardstick and the jockey payed the price.

i'd take him over Fallon any day.

Morgans

You are probably right in that they got rid of him a year maybe too early but he is not getting any younger and i think they saw Spencer as a long term replacement. Every jockey is fallible, but Kinane did seem to be making more mistakes. With Dettori contracted elsewhere, the rest of the jocks are much or a muchness.

scojones

Is Detorri still out with a broken collar bone?

fr wishy washy

Shocking fall for MJ today at the Curragh.
His mount (Redstone Dancer) was brought down when Fran Berry's horse(Indian Rite) broke a leg in front of him.