Racing:The trainer of Sea the Stars today hailed the "burning ambition" of Mick Kinane that kept the veteran jockey at the top of his game during an outstanding 34-year career. John Oxx's colt had six Group One wins this year including the 2000 Guineas-Derby-Arc treble, leaving Kinane with virtually nothing left to achieve.
Today Kinane announced his retirement from the sport and Oxx was quick to pay tribute.
“I have decided this is the right time to retire from race-riding,” Kinane said.
“At 50 I still feel fit and sharp enough to do any horse justice but, after the season I have just had in partnership with Sea The Stars, I have the privilege of being able to end my career as a jockey on an incredible high and that’s what I want to do.
“I leave with a huge sense of gratitude to all the great horses I have ridden, all the great trainers whose genius developed those champions and everybody else in racing, from the stable lads to the owners, who have made me deeply thankful for my involvement in the game.
“Teamwork is the key to success in racing and I have been blessed with some of the best alliances a jockey could have.”
Oxx will welcome him back with open arms when he fancies a spin on the gallops.
The trainer said: “He seems very keen to keep riding. He has a couple of hunters to keep himself fit and I’m sure he will be down here to ride a bit of work. Someone like that, you couldn’t get a better work rider!
“I haven’t spoken to him since Saturday, he’s obviously going to be very busy with interviews over the next couple of days but I’m sure we’ll be in touch in due course.”
Fran Berry, Oxx’s regular second jockey, is poised to take over the mantle, but not officially as yet.
“I’d prefer not to make a comment about it at the moment. It’s pretty obvious, but I haven’t spoken to my clients yet,” explained Oxx.
Kinane hangs up his riding boots with nearly 1,500 winners to his credit and a string of victories across the world, with the list of great horses he rode almost endless.
Champion Irish apprentice in 1978, his first job as a stable jockey was with Michael Kauntze in the early 1980s and his first big break came when he joined forces with Dermot Weld in 1984.
He stayed with the Rosewell House trainer until 1999 when he was appointed Aidan O’Brien’s number one at Ballydoyle, staying until the end of 2003.
He broke new ground when winning the Belmont Stakes in America for Weld on Go And Go in 1990, as well as the Melbourne Cup on the same trainer’s Vintage Crop in 1993.
Montjeu was a magnificent winner of the Arc in 1999 and arguably even better in the following year’s King George, while Galileo and Commander In Chief also won the Derby.
Kinane pointed to his triumph on the Henry Cecil-trained Commander In Chief in 1993 as another significant moment.
“Your first Epsom Derby success is very special so winning on Commander In Chief was a huge milestone,” said Kinane.
“My Derby-Oaks double on Galileo and Imagine was also very special. Dermot Weld is a great man for breaking new ground so the Belmont and Melbourne Cup were both great achievements.
“I will just be a small-time farmer from next week. I have no great plans so am going to spend some time with my wife and family and take stock.”
Like many of the greats of the industry, Oxx cannot speak highly enough of him.
“Michael Kinane was just the complete professional in every way,” said Oxx. “Not only was he a top jockey with great skill and determination, but he always conducted himself perfectly. He had a great work ethic and he never let anybody down.
“We had Azamour a few years ago who won a lot of good races but Sea The Stars has been such a great landmark horse and it has been wonderful to have Michael there to ride him.
“The Arc is the one everyone will remember. There was so much at stake, no one wanted to see the horse fall at the last and get beaten, everyone wanted to see him finish up with a win and he was just so confident on the day.
“The horse was in a difficult position, the race was messy and didn’t go according to plan but he just kept his nerve and guided him through the gaps and won easily. I suppose that is the day he will always be remembered for.
“You couldn’t have predicted it or planned it but it has been great for him to have had the best horse he ever rode in the final year of his career. It’s the sort of end that he deserves.”
Oxx believed it was pure desire that kept Kinane at the top.
“People say you need great natural ability, which you do, but it’s the perspiration that people put into their career that makes the difference,” he said.
“He worked terribly hard right from an early age and had that burning ambition and drive to stick with it. That’s what brought him to a different level but I suppose it was his reputation as a big-race rider that everybody latched onto.
“He had the big-race temperament, never made mistakes and just repeatedly won big races. But he was very good at the little tracks on a Monday or Tuesday just the same. He had that drive to ride winners with every chance he got.”