Gold Cup winning jockey James Doyle was full of praise for Frankie Dettori after riding Big Orange to victory at Ascot.
Dettori has been sadly missed at Ascot, after he had to cry off on Tuesday with a shoulder injury, but his advice to Doyle on how to ride Big Orange was crucial as the big six-year-old triumphed in an epic race.
After back-to-back doubles Big Orange was running two and half miles for the first time but, having been sent on with a circuit to go, he held off a great challenge from Order of St George to win by a short head and Doyle thanked Dettori for his advice.
“Frankie is a real star and was on the phone for 20 minutes a couple of nights ago,” said Doyle.
“He said don’t interfere with him. He knows what speed he wants to go at, so you just sit as a passenger. I’d better buy him a drink… more than one probably!”
