Surely better than good,G.Hall.

Nogoody
I wouldn't say he was a great jockey, I will say better than good, but not great.

Someone needs to mention to betfair he has retired

One of the greats for me, even though I never quite warmed to him for some reason.

Possessed a great mix of steel and style, even if he did overdo the waiting tactics on occasion. I don't think there'd be too many jockeys you'd want over him in a finish.

It's not a surprise, as the quality of his rides started to gradually dry up, exacerbated by Jack Kennedy's increasing profile. Also, I think he was more or less the last of that golden generation - McCoy, Johnson, Walsh, Carberry, Geraghty, Fehily et al, still standing.

In addition to Millington, I also recall him having a go at McCririck for having a pop at Dunguib's young rider in the Supreme - Brian O'Connell. Had to google both the horse and jockey's name - terrible this getting older lark!

I will miss the guy big time ....I hope he makes a comeback.

Irish jumping equivalent to Johnny Murtagh on the flat. I had doubts about Johnny as a trainer but he is doing really well.

Thanks for that irish.

turns out he wants to share the limelight with Frankie and Prince Harry.

I will miss the guy big time Sad....I hope he makes a comeback....

I will miss the guy big time Sad....I hope he makes a comeback....

Ooops !!

Sod's law comes into play here, I hope the poor fkr. doesn't get broken up.

HE's back riding.

I hope that Davy has some big winners but I also hope he doesn't have any bad falls. The decision suggests that Elliott has little confidence in any of the younger Irish jockeys.

Was Elliott right to recall Russell? Here are my thoughts on the dramatic U-turn
COMMENT DAVID JENNINGS

1 of 1
2:00PM, JAN 13 2023
 
Davy Russell spoiled the best World Cup final of our lifetime for me and now he owes me 20 quid too.

The ninth most successful jump jockey of all time decided to retire at Thurles half an hour before Argentina and France kicked off in Qatar. Between normal time, extra-time and penalties, there were 12 goals scored. I saw none of them. That was nobody's fault but yours, Davy. We were busy assembling the best possible tribute to you and you're not getting another one!

Fast forward exactly three weeks and, just before the bumper at Naas, I bumped into Gordon Elliott's main bloodstock agent Mouse O'Ryan. We were discussing Jack Kennedy's tumble from Top Bandit and how unlucky the poor chap was with injuries when Russell popped up in the conversation.

"I wouldn't be one bit surprised if Davy came back," Mouse said. "Not a hope," I replied. I stupidly felt the urge to have a bet with him. A score. We even shook on it.

I lost the bet at 9.09pm on Wednesday night. That was when Square In The Air's Bill Esdaille tweeted the news of Russell's return with a statement from the man himself. He said he wanted to "help the team through a difficult few weeks".

There are two ways of looking at it. You can argue it is the wrong call because Jordan Gainford and Sam Ewing's confidence will be shattered; because Russell had got out of the game in one piece; because he had said goodbye; because he is 43.

But, on the flip side, you can't beat experience; that on the big day, when it matters most, he remains as good as anyone; that it would have been too much too soon for Gainford and Ewing; that Cheltenham is just around the corner and a safe pair of hands is worth its weight in gold around there.

Russell has cost me time and money so I really should be agreeing with the first of those two arguments, yet I find myself siding with the second one.

Speaking on Racing TV's Road To Cheltenham show on Thursday night, Ruby Walsh said that Gainford and Ewing would be "gutted" and as competitive sportsmen they would naturally be "bitterly disappointed". Of course that is probably true but I don't subscribe to the theory it will ruin their careers. Far from it, in fact.

Speaking on Irish radio station Newstalk after his victory on The Shunter at the 2021 Cheltenham Festival, Gainford said: "I used to ring Davy Russell every morning [at Cheltenham]. He's my idol. He always was, and always will be. To be honest, I think he's the best man to ever put on a pair of riding boots."

He added: "He's never in the wrong place and he's relaxed. If you ring him about a race, he's able to tell you about the horse in four words. Ruby Walsh was special, Barry Geraghty was special – but I suppose I'm that bit closer to Davy, and I'm talking to him on the phone a couple of times a week."


Davy Russell: unexpected return to riding the big talking point in racing this week
Davy Russell: unexpected return to riding the big talking point in racing this week
Patrick McCann
Gainford's admiration for his idol will be tested in the coming weeks as Russell will rob him of a right few quid. But the fact of the matter is the young jockey has just the sole Grade 1 success to his name in Ireland, and that came over Christmas on Gerri Colombe. Ewing has yet to ride a Graded winner.

There are those of you who will say, "If you're good enough, you're old enough" and the irony of it all is that Kennedy proved just that. He won a Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the age of 17 on the quirky Labaik, but Kennedy was no normal youngster. He was always different. He was 17 going on 57. The only thing that matched his talent at that age was his mentality. Whether he gave a horse a tremendous ride or a terrible one, his demeanour never changed. That was what set him apart from the crowd as much as anything.

He is a one-off, and when he retires in about 20 years' time I have no doubt whatsoever we will remember him as one of the all-time greats.

You might think Elliott's team is not as strong as in other years, but he still has four favourites and four second favourites at Cheltenham. In all likelihood, he will probably have at least a dozen horses who are sent off a single-figure price in March. That is a lot of pressure for someone as inexperienced as Gainford or Ewing if Kennedy were not to make it back in time.

As Elliott said himself, if this sort of thing happened next year it would be a no-brainer. Gainford would be number one and Ewing number two. It hasn't happened next year, though. It has happened now and he needed to act.

Russell's record at Cheltenham speaks for itself and he has already ridden most of the horses he will be riding in the big races over the next few months. Indeed, his steer on Conflated in last year's Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup was a thing of beauty.

He has won a Pertemps Final and three Grade 1s on Delta Work, who is hot favourite to win another Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase. Maxxum, as short as 7-2 for this year's Pertemps Final, won at Navan in November under him, and he also guided Mares' Hurdle fancy Queens Brook to victory in her maiden hurdle at Fairyhouse.

The easiest thing in the world would have been to promote the two youngsters and Denis O'Regan and forget about Russell. To leave the past in the past. That is what most of us expected but Elliott has acted on instinct. He feels it is a season too soon for Gainford and Ewing and is willing to accept the consequences if the Davy experiment doesn't go well.

This is Davy Russell, though, and the Davy Russell I know was born for situations like this. When the spotlight shines brightest, when the pressure is at its most intense, when Charles Byrnes is waiting on a treble at Roscommon for an absolute fortune, that is when he is at his very best.

Russell will be fine over these next few months. His body might be 43 but his brain isn't. Begrudgingly, I think it is the correct call.

If you do happen to pick up another Grade 1 at Leopardstown or Cheltenham, Davy, any chance of a score to pay off Mouse?

Some class people on here !

Another comeback?
summat on RP

Forgot to say...shocking omission, James Millman.