OBrien facing rider shortage as Moore out and Lordan banned

Aidan OBrien faces a major selection headache for next month’s pinnacle flat-racing fixtures after his stable was hit by two significant absences: retained first-choice jockey Ryan Moore has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his femur and has been withdrawn from his rides, and second jockey Wayne Lordan has been suspended for 10 days for a whip rules breach. The developments come after weekend racing at Goodwood and the Curragh and leave Ballydoyle short of its leading riders ahead of the Irish Champions Weekend and the St Leger meeting at Doncaster.

Moore was taken off five mounts at the Curragh on Saturday after reporting pain, and subsequent scans revealed a stress fracture of the right femur, OBrien said. The trainer said Moore had been struggling with the leg since the Irish Derby and that scans and X-rays confirmed the fracture. OBrien added that the injury will require time to heal and that Moore would be unlikely to ride again this season, saying, "He'd be very lucky, I'd say," and that "there is only one thing that is going to fix it and that is time."

The timing is disruptive for a rider who has been a mainstay of OBrien’s operation and who was active at major...