Soumillon out of Ballydoyle picture Christophe Soumillon has been ruled out of the running to become the next retained rider at Ballydoyle after signing a contract to partner horses for the Wildenstein family in France. The talented 29-year-old had been strongly linked with the job made vacant by the resignation of stable jockey Johnny Murtagh earlier this month. The Belgian native has enjoyed success with Coolmore horses in the past such as Dylan Thomas (Prix Ganay) and Hurricane Run in the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Colm O'Donoghue is the new favourite to get the post. He's been based with Coolmore's principal trainer Aidan O'Brien for 13 years and William Hill believe he is the most likely candidate to step up and take the top role at 2/1. With Murtagh signing up to become the new retained rider for the Aga Khan's Irish-trained horses, of which John Oxx trains 90, Oxx's stable jockey Fran Berry has effectively found himself out of a job. He is William Hill's second-favourite to effectively swap seats with Murtagh at 5-1. The bookmaker's spokesman, Tony Kenny, said: "The hallowed halls of Ballydoyle are battened down again without a sniff as to who is going to land the coveted job. "Colm O'Donoghue - now favourite by default following the ruling out of Soumillon - is the likeliest appointment. "But it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Ballydoyle instead choose to use the best jockey available, which could lead to a lot of jostling among the upper ranks."
