‘Hopefully he will catch Lester’ – O’Brien gives Moore new target

He is only getting better. That was the message from Aidan O’Brien after Ryan Moore went past Frankie Dettori to become the most successful active rider at Royal Ascot.

Having equalled the decorated Italian’s tally when steering Auguste Rodin home in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes on Wednesday, the Ballydoyle number one wasted no time in passing his long-time weighing room colleague with a double on day three of the summer showpiece.

Fittingly, it was a ride that exemplified the 40-year-old’s skills in the saddle that brought up number 82, with his expert judgement of pace seeing him the first to breach the gap to runaway front-runner You Got To Me in the Ribblesdale Stakes.

He then showcased his strength to drive the lightly-raced filly Port Fairy home by a neck, having slogged it out with David O’Meara’s Lava Stream in the closing stages.

Moore didn’t have to wait long to increase his total to 83, with another masterclass of race management helping Kyprios to reclaim the Gold Cup crown.

There is not much his long-time boss O’Brien has not previously said about his main man, but the master of Ballydoyle amazingly believes the best of Moore could still be to come.

“It’s incredible – and at his age, Ryan must be 10 years younger than Frankie,” said O’Brien.

When asked if he can match the great Lester Piggott, who triumphed 116 times at the Royal meeting, O’Brien added: “Hopefully he will catch Lester.

“It’s incredible and Ryan has been riding for us a long time now you know. Every year he is getting better, which is incredible. He will definitely keep improving until he is 45.”

It was in the colours of Michael Tabor that Moore both matched Dettori’s tally on Wednesday and then surpassed it on day three and the co-owner was in no doubt about how important their retained rider is to the Coolmore operation.

Tabor said: “His record speaks for itself, they say he has passed Dettori and all records are there to be broken. On top of everything, he is also a nice guy, which is obviously so important.

“It’s great to have him on our side; it’s that he’s not opposing us, which is so important, if you get my drift.

“He’s not getting any worse, is he? He’s just riding at the top of his game and long may it continue.

“He’s riding work at Ballydoyle and is really into everything that goes on there. Aidan gets on with him and it is all about getting on with people. You can be really good at what you do but if you clash, it’s no good and that’s how life is, and they seem to get on really well.

“They are a winning partnership and long may it last. Ryan is at the top of his game and hopefully what is in his thoughts, we know he is going to retire one day, but hopefully it is many years away.”

The double also put Moore one ahead of James Doyle and Oisin Murphy in the week’s leading rider standings and despite now being right up there with the best of his contemporaries, the latter admits he can only dream of matching Moore’s accomplishments in the saddle.

Murphy said: “It’s quite extraordinary what Ryan has done and for a man nowhere near the end of his career to ride this many Royal Ascot winners and be associated with so many outstanding, world-class horses is something special. He’s the ultimate professional and I’m very pleased for him.

“We have a very honest sort of relationship and I’m very grateful for the communication we have. I aspire to one day win as many big races as him, but I know it’s probably not possible.”