Ryan Moore Out for Several Months, a Major Headache for Aidan O’Brien

The Star English Jockey Suffered a Fractured Right Femur and Is Expected to Miss Europe’s Major Autumn Races

Ryan Moore to Miss Nearly the Entire Season / ROYAL ASCOT

COUNTY KILDARE, Irlanda (Special for Turf Diario).- The international turf world was shaken this weekend as Ryan Moore, one of the top jockeys globally and a key rider for Aidan O’Brien, will be sidelined for several months after sustaining a fracture to his right femur.

The news was confirmed by O’Brien on Racing TV, hours after Moore was withdrawn from all five mounts at The Curragh, including the favorite Mission Central (No Nay Never) in the Heider Family Stables Round Tower Stakes (G3).

“Ryan had an MRI and they found a femur fracture,” O’Brien explained. “He’s been dealing with leg issues since the Irish Derby, getting treatment and doing all sorts of things only Ryan knows how to do to stay in shape. Many possibilities were considered, but yesterday, after the scan, the fracture was confirmed. Once they saw it, there was no choice: he has to give it time to heal.”

The fracture is not minor. According to O’Brien, it’s a grade-four fracture, the most severe on the medical scale. “It’s incredible he was able to keep competing with this. We were told he was very lucky the bone didn’t fully break, because it was in a critical state,” added the Ballydoyle trainer.

Moore had continued riding for weeks without knowing the injury’s severity. His last victories came at the Ebor Festival at York, where he won three times, including Minnie Hauk (Frankel) in the Yorkshire Oaks (G1), and he was active at Deauville just days later, making the diagnosis even more striking.

For O’Brien, Moore’s absence is a huge setback at the peak of the European racing calendar. In the coming weeks, the St Leger Meeting at Doncaster and the Irish Champions Festival at Leopardstown will feature multiple top-class horses from Coolmore, intensifying the impact.

Complicating matters, Wayne Lordan, O’Brien’s second-choice jockey, is also unavailable due to suspension for excessive whip use at Goodwood, leaving Ballydoyle without its two main riders for key events.

Although there is no precise timetable, Moore is expected to miss the remainder of the major European fixtures, including the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe weekend at ParisLongchamp.

“We don’t know exactly how long it will take—maybe a month, two, three, or more,” O’Brien said. “Ryan will have check-ups weekly or biweekly to monitor progress, but with the femur, there’s no room for risk. It’s the largest bone in the body, and we cannot rush anything.”

Moore’s absence forces O’Brien to reorganize his riding team for the season’s highest-profile races. With both primary jockeys out, he will have to rely on secondary riders and distribute responsibilities across a stable that usually dominates much of Europe’s G1 scene.

Meanwhile, Moore begins a long recovery process, sidelining him for several months. For Coolmore and Ballydoyle, the challenge will be maintaining their winning momentum without their star jockey during the most critical part of the season.