Frankie Dettori’s Sandown replacement named as superstar jockey sits out lengthy ban during final season
JOHN GOSDEN has called upon old friend William Buick to replace the banned Frankie Dettori on Emily Upjohn at Sandown on Saturday.
Emily Upjohn is the general 11-10 favourite for Saturday’s Coral-Eclipse but will be without her usual partner Dettori.
The legendary Italian is currently serving a nine-day ban for careless riding following an incident in the Wolferton Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Dettori’s appeal against the suspension was dismissed last week and the Gosden’s have wasted little time in securing the best possible replacement.
Thady Gosden told Racing TV: “Following Frankie’s appeal, the owners wanted William to ride and that’s the way we are going. Obviously, William is an excellent rider and we are delighted to have him aboard.
“It is disappointing and frustrating for Frankie not to be riding her, and with William not having a ride in the race he seemed a very sensible option for the owners.”
Buick, the retained rider for Charlie Appleby and the Godolphin outfit, secured his first jockeys title last year and has history with John Gosden.
In 2010 Buick replaced Jimmy Fortune as stable jockey for Gosden and he won his first Classic aboard Arctic Cosmos that year.
Buick would spend four years riding for the Gosden team before making the switch to Godolphin in 2014.
That switch has proved extremely fruitful, with Buick winning countless Group 1s across the globe.
The Norwegian has won the Eclipse on three occasions, including a famous success on the Gosden-trained Nathaniel in 2012.
For Dettori, it marks the beginning of a hugely frustrating period that will see him miss the July Cup.
The sprint feature at Newmarket is the only domestic Group 1 he is yet to win and he’ll be unable to right that wrong following a whip ban.
Dettori used his whip once above the permitted level in the Royal Ascot opener aboard Inspiral and as it was a Class 1 race, his four-day ban was doubled.
He was set to pair up with Kinross, a general 13-2 chance for the race that takes place two Saturdays from now.
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