Trainer Paul Messara is delighted William Buick has come up with a contingency plan enabling him to ride Australian mare Ortensia as she bids for a second English Group One on Saturday.
The leading jockey is engaged to ride Nathaniel in the Irish Champion Stakes on the same afternoon as Ortensia runs in the Sprint Cup at Haydock.
Buick believes it is now possible to ride at both tracks, taking a helicopter to Leopardstown after riding in the Sprint Cup at 3.25pm, with the feature Irish race due off at 5.45pm.
“It is great news for us,” Messara told Sydney’s Sky Sports Radio.
“We are obviously delighted to have him aboard.
“I’ve been talking to his manager and he is confident of getting him there.
“It’s a different way of doing things but it’s quite common here for jockeys to do this, to go to different tracks by helicopter or light aircraft.
Buick said he was looking forward to being able to ride both horses.
“It’s looking very possible,” he said.
“It will be a helicopter from here to Leopardstown after the Sprint Cup and I’m looking forward to it.
“They are two fantastic horses. Obviously my loyalties are with John Gosden, it wasn’t a case of where I was going to go, I was always going to go to Ireland.
“It was whether I could squeeze Ortensia in on the same day and now, thankfully, it’s looking possible.
“I’m just very fortunate to be able to ride two horses of that calibre on the same day.”
Buick rode Ortensia to a Group Two win before landing the Group One Nunthorpe Stakes on the mare.
Messara said it was an advantage to have him aboard the quirky mare.
“She’s not an easy horse to ride and (William) having ridden her before is a big advantage for us,” he said.
“She can be a little bit temperamental and he really gets on with her well so it’s pretty important.”
Messara confirmed the plan was for the race to be Ortensia’s last in England before she returns home to Australia for a rest.
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