Davy Russell was a shadow of himself after Michael O'Leary's bizarre and graceless intervention
If the 2023 Cheltenham Festival turns out to be the last act of Davy Russell’s long and illustrious career, it was not the encore a rider of his ilk deserved.
And that’s not because results didn’t go his way. Or at least it’s not in as much as the circus that preceded the actual racing undermined him before he ever threw his leg over a horse in anger.
Michael O’Leary knows the power his words carry and he has a history of deploying them to devastating effect. Quite why he felt it necessary to launch such a destructive grenade on to Russell’s lap on the eve of such a seismic week is hard to fathom.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on inRichard Forristal
Last updated
- Winners identifying as maidens? Ireland's bizarre new academy hurdles initiative is impossible to fathom
- Jack Kennedy's latest grim misfortune is a massive blow to Gordon Elliott - and there's no Davy Russell to call upon this time
- Outstanding weekend highlights prove that change is good - even if it wasn't quite a revolution
- An act of Henderson's revered sorcery is about all we have left to cling to after Constitution Hill's underwhelming gallop at Newbury
- Long-awaited report into IHRB scandal makes one thing absolutely clear - the whole situation stinks
- Winners identifying as maidens? Ireland's bizarre new academy hurdles initiative is impossible to fathom
- Jack Kennedy's latest grim misfortune is a massive blow to Gordon Elliott - and there's no Davy Russell to call upon this time
- Outstanding weekend highlights prove that change is good - even if it wasn't quite a revolution
- An act of Henderson's revered sorcery is about all we have left to cling to after Constitution Hill's underwhelming gallop at Newbury
- Long-awaited report into IHRB scandal makes one thing absolutely clear - the whole situation stinks