Rossa Ryan broke his collarbone in a fall on May 26 then missed Royal Ascot after an operation to treat appendicitis; Mojo Star heads to the Curragh for the Irish Derby after finishing a shock second in the Cazoo Derby at Epsom at 50/1
Tuesday 22 June 2021 16:10, UK
Jockey Rossa Ryan is set to return from nearly a month out of the saddle to ride Mojo Star in the Irish Derby at the Curragh on Saturday.
Ryan, retained rider for Mojo Star's ownership group Amo Racing, broke his collarbone on May 26 in a fall at Wolverhampton on board Imajorblush.
Having nearly recovered from that injury, Ryan then missed Royal Ascot after undergoing an operation to treat appendicitis.
During Ryan's absence, David Egan took the ride on 50/1 shot Mojo Star in the Epsom Derby and finished a shock second behind Adayar, in just his third career start for Richard Hannon.
The three-year-old colt, still a maiden after three consecutive second-placed finishes, heads to Ireland on Saturday for the Classic at the Curragh.
Ryan could also ride Amo Racing's Go Bears Go in the Group Two Railway Stakes on the same card.
The David Loughnane-trained two-year-old finished a close second in the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot last week under Silvestre de Sousa.
High Definition is on course for Saturday's Irish Derby, although Aidan O'Brien has yet to finalise his full squad.
The Galileo colt was the winter favourite for the Derby at Epsom after winning each of his two juvenile starts, before a blood disorder scuppered a planned Lingfield run and sent him to York's Dante Stakes for a Classic prep.
High Definition finished third on his return on the Knavesmire and had been expected to line up at Epsom, only for O'Brien and Coolmore to make a late change of plan three days before the Derby which saw him miss out in favour of the Curragh.
O'Brien said: "Everything has been good since he ran at York and the plan is for him to run.
"We're happy with him at the moment."
After relying on just Bolshoi Ballet at Epsom, O'Brien has a number of contenders at this stage for the Curragh, with a couple possibly making a swift return after running at Ascot last week.
The Mediterranean finished fourth in the King Edward VII Stakes, while Sir Lamorak was a fast-finishing second in the King George V Stakes. Both are in the frame, along with Van Gogh, who was well beaten by stablemate St Mark's Basilica on his most recent run in the French Derby.
