Racing:Colm O'Donoghue is the new favourite to become Coolmore's number one jockey after Christophe Soumillon ruled himself out of the job.
The Belgian-born rider had been favourite for the coveted post vacated by Johnny Murtagh, but has now signed a new deal to ride for the Wildenstein family in France.
O'Donoghue has been based with Coolmore's principal trainer Aidan O'Brien for 13 years and some bookmakers believe he is the most likely candidate to step up and take the top role, with William Hill making him the 2-1 favourite.
Murtagh signed up to become the new retained rider for the Aga Khan's Irish-trained horses, of which John Oxx trains 90, which means Oxx's stable jockey Fran Berry has effectively found himself out of a job. He is second favourite to swap seats with Murtagh at 5-1.
"Colm O'Donoghue - now favourite by default following the ruling out of Soumillon - is the likeliest appointment,” said Tony Kenny, William Hill spokesman. "But it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Ballydoyle instead choose to use the best jockey available, which could lead to a lot of jostling among the upper ranks."