Who rides who? The curious case of the King George jockeys' merry-go-round

There are vanishingly few chances to pick up a top-class spare ride in most Group 1s, with those owners and trainers who trade at the top level paying expensive retainers to ensure they are not left scratching around for a suitable rider come the biggest days.

So what to make of a King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes in which three of the six runners have new (or nearly new) jockeys, while a fourth probably would have had a different rider had the race been run three weeks ago.

James Doyle would not have even contemplated getting a call from the Gosden team to ride Mishriff until the news broke eight days ago that owner-breeder Prince Faisal and jockey David Egan would be going their separate ways.