De Sousa and O’Shea leading contenders to succeed Hills

A decision on a successor to Richard Hills as retained jockey to owner Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum is expected to be made soon.

Sheikh Hamdan’s racing manager Angus Gold said they were keen to make an announcement shortly, with the start of the British turf season just weeks away.

“Nothing has been finalised yet. There has been plenty of speculation and now we have to think what to do and I need to speak to Sheikh Hamdan before anything is confirmed,” said Gold.