Legendary jockey’s new contract ‘to be ripped up’ predict punters just days after signing for billionaire owner

PUNTERS reckon a legendary jockey could spot his caller declaration 'ripped up' days aft signing for a billionaire proprietor - aft losing to a 100-1 outsider.

Iconic French rider Mickael Barzalona was precocious confirmed arsenic the caller No1 for proprietor the Aga Khan.

And they looked to person a bully happening successful the archetypal contention connected Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe time successful red-hot filly Zarigana.

Trained by Francis Graffard, she was sent disconnected 1-2 favourite for the Group 1 Marcel Boussac implicit a mile.

And with a saccharine gully successful stall 5 she looked to person everything going close successful her bid to triumph the £200,000 first-place prize.

Barzalona came swining successful connected the girl of Ziyouni and deed the beforehand with 50 yards to go.

But helium was possibly blameworthy of reasoning helium was location and hosed - and didn't spot the fast-finishing 100-1 roughie Vertical Blue storming up his inside.

In a genuinely agonising decorativeness for punters who backed Zarigana, Vertical Blue, besides trained by Graffard, got up by conscionable a chemoreceptor to assertion the astir improbable of victories.

A superb triumph for jockey Alexis Pouchin - but devastation for punters who had piled Zarigana into accas.

One punter joked the decorativeness could awesome the extremity of Barzalona's clip arsenic the Aga Khan jockey.

He wrote: "Just watched the replay, Barzalona hasn't lifted the instrumentality once, tried to triumph hands and heels successful a Group 1.

"Jesus, mightiness person that declaration ripped up aft that."

While different said: "That 1 hurt. Not definite if the jockey thought helium had the main menace beaten oregon conscionable got done for stamina… ouch."

And a 3rd posted online: "First contention connected Arc time and we’ve already seen the worst ride. That is an implicit shocker connected Zarigana."

Barzalona, who won the 2011 Derby connected Pour Moi, was champion French jockey successful 2021.

He was fixed the apical occupation past week successful a tumultuous fewer weeks for the owner, who precocious announced helium was removing each his horses from apical French trainer Jean-Claude Rouget.

In a connection posted connected the Aga Khan's site, it was confirmed the 17 horses successful grooming with Rouget - whose awesome Ace Impact won past year's Arc de Triomphe - would beryllium moved to Francis-Henri Graffard.

The connection read: "The Aga Khan Studs person announced that their horses presently trained by Jean-Claude Rouget volition beryllium relocated to the Aiglemont grooming centre successful Gouvieux nether the supervision of Francis-Henri Graffard, with the purpose of streamlining their operations.

"The squad astatine Aga Khan Studs widen their heartfelt acknowledgment to Jean-Claude Rouget for his dedication implicit the past 19 years, during which clip helium has won 7 Group 1 races for H.H. the Aga Khan, including Valyra (Prix de Diane), Ervedya (Poule d’Essai des Pouliches, Coronation Stakes and Prix du Moulin de Longchamp) and much precocious Vadeni (Prix du Jockey Club and Eclipse Stakes)."

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