Ballydoyle’s jockeys are now very much under the microscope

YOU’D wonder if Aidan O’Brien stared wistfully at the winner’s enclosure after the first race at Leopardstown last Sunday, a maiden for three-year-old fillies?

What he would have seen was Johnny Murtagh dismounting from first-timer, Mesariya, his initial winner in his new role as number one jockey to the Aga Khan.

Murtagh, of course, walked away from Ballydoyle at the end of last season and has not been replaced, nor is he likely to be, apparently, for the current campaign.