RACEGOERS at Listowel next Tuesday will have the chance to see one of the sport’s most decorated jockeys in action, with the track announcing that Ryan Moore will ride on day three of this year’s Harvest Festival.

Aidan O’Brien and the Coolmore partners’ retained rider recently surpassed the phenomenal milestone of 200 Group/Grade 1 winners and he is now gearing up to ride in Co Kerry for the first time in his career.

The 2024 Listowel Harvest Festival kicks off this Sunday and runs for seven days through to Saturday, 28th September. Wednesday’s card plays host to the feature of the week, the €200,000 Guinness Kerry National.

On the coup of snapping up Moore for Tuesday, leading photographer and Listowel Races committee member Pat Healy told The Irish Field: “Ryan is the world’s biggest rider and having him here projects Listowel into a wider audience. He obviously has a following all over the world, from Hong Kong to Japan, Australia and America, and hopefully if he rides a winner next Tuesday at Listowel it will grow the Harvest Festival’s audience. We’re delighted to have him coming.

Flat initiative

“We’ve been trying to get some big names to come to the Kingdom over the last couple of years. With those flat days, I think everyone knows you have to try something different to add to the buzz of the meetings. It should be something great for the local people of Kerry; he’s never ridden in the county before. To have the world’s best rider taking part on 'The Island' race track is a great notch in the belt of the Harvest Festival.”

Healy added: “We couldn’t do it without Aidan and the Ballydoyle team. Down the years we’d have had a quiet word about the possibility of it, but thankfully this time around the ducks have come in a row for it to happen. We’re very thankful to Aidan, all the team in Ballydoyle and [assistant] Chris Armstrong for helping look after the logistics.”

The Co Kerry track welcomed Oisin Murphy back to the Kingdom during last year’s Harvest Festival, with the three-time British champion jockey getting a winner on the board through the Pat O’Donnell-trained Dragon Of Malta.

Frankie Dettori had been due to ride at Listowel in 2022 before a 14-day ban for his Baden-Baden ride on Torquator Tasso ruled him out of the trip, and a disagreement over the legendary rider’s appearance fee a year later put paid to hopes he would ride at the meeting in 2023.

Earlier this week, Moore added a new Irish track to his list of courses that he has ridden a winner at. He made his first visit to Punchestown a winning one as he partnered Genealogy to success in a two-year-old maiden on Tuesday.

Moore’s other Irish courses to ride at are the Curragh (171 winners), Leopardstown (68), Naas (40), Navan (22), Dundalk (15), Tipperary (six), Cork (two), Gowran Park and Roscommon (one at each).