Opinion: ‘Christophe Soumillon riding in races like this is a gamble’ Christophe Soumillon will add “glamour” to the upcoming Irish Champions Festival, according to racing journalist and broadcaster Johnny Ward. Aidan O’Brien confirmed this week that the Belgian will play a major role for Ballydoyle in the coming months with retained rider Ryan Moore out for the rest of the season with a broken leg. Ballydoyle’s roster is further depleted by Wayne Lordan’s 10-day ban between September 9th and 18th, meaning he is unavailable for Irish Champions weekend (September 13th-14th) and the St Leger meeting at Doncaster (September 12th-14th). O’Brien added: “Christophe has always been (part of the plans). He’s not tied down to anybody now. He’s a world-class jockey everywhere, he’s been riding for us a lot since he’s been released.” Irish Champions Festival Potential to Become A Global Event “I think this is a bit of an opportunity for Leopardstown and the Curragh in terms of promoting Christophe Soumillon coming over,” Ward explained on irishracing.com’s Irish Angle show this week. “He's in his mid-40s now, but he's still a big name in racing. He's an exotic feature now of a weekend that probably struggled a bit with an international element. When you have Japanese runners as we had last year it adds so much glamour. “I know Pat Keogh got the air miles in trying to get Japanese runners over because the Far East is insanely racing mad. “As much as with Christophe Soumillon, if you asked 100 people, 99 might never have heard of him, I do think Leopardstown and the Curragh should have billboards now and little ads ‘Christophe is coming’. For me it adds so much to the weekend.” Soumillon Has Plenty To Prove In Ireland Despite Soumillon’s experience across the globe, Ward highlighted his inexperience in Ireland and insisted it will not be easy at the Curragh or Leopardstown. “This might sound ridiculous now but in my view Christophe Soumillon riding in races like this is a gamble. You had John R. Velazquez come over here and, to me, he didn't look like a guy who was absolutely at home with the racetracks here,” Ward added. “Christophe Soumillon’s record in Ireland is quite remarkable really. If he’s going to come over and ride these good horses for Ballydoyle, he's ridden six winners ever in Ireland. Two of them were for John Oxx, one for Jean-Claude Rouget, one for Alain de Royer-Dupré. For Aidan O'Brien in Ireland, he's ridden only one horse ever. “The Curragh is a track that doesn't really entice trouble in running for a good reason. It's one of the best tracks in the world, no doubt. Leopardstown's not like that. Leopardstown is very tricky. “It's a different ball game when you go across the world.” A New Frankie Dettori Johnny Ward compared Soumillon to the legendary Frankie Dettori with similar flamboyance in the saddle. He added: “Christophe Soumillon coming over here just adds so much to the weekend because he's quite flamboyant and he brings so much glamour. He's like another kind of version of Frankie Dettori. “The pressure will be on him because you look back in the day when The Grey Gatsby ran, races like that where small margins can see a short price favourite being beaten in the Champion Stakes for example. “This guy is a superstar in his homeland. Obviously still riding winners and riding big race winners for Ballydoyle in France. For me, I'm really looking forward to seeing him coming over here to ride in real pressure races.” Watch The Irish Angle Or Listen on Spotify
