Irish jockey Jonny Murtagh has announced his retirement from riding to concentrate on training.
Murtagh rode more than 100 Group One winners during his career and took out his training licence in May last year.
He rode Australian sprinter Choisir to a famous Royal Ascot double in the King’s Stand and Golden Jubilee in 2003 and partnered another Australian, Starspangledbanner, to wins in the 2010 Golden Jubilee and July Cup.
While he enjoyed a fantastic campaign in 2013 in what turned out to be his final season as a jockey, riding five Group One winners, he said he felt the time was now right to hang up his saddle.
“The training side of things is getting bigger all the time and I wasn’t happy giving the riding 50 per cent and the training 50 per cent,” Murtagh told Press Association Sport.
Murtagh rode four Irish Derby winners and six Irish Oaks winners including Chicquita last year and also won the Epsom Derby three times.
He had a great affinity with Royal Ascot, taking the leading rider award at the summer showpiece meeting for a fifth time last year.
“I’ve done extremely well and when you look at the list of horses I’ve ridden, there have been some brilliant horses,” Murtagh said.
“Riding and training Royal Diamond to win on Champions Day last year at Ascot (in the Long Distance Cup), that was something very special as well.
“When you are riding you can take all the big winners for granted, but when you sit back and think about it, I’ve been very lucky.
“I didn’t ride a horse until I was 15 and it’s been fantastic, but it’s now time to move on to the next chapter in my life.”
Murtagh was stable jockey at Aidan O’Brien’s powerful Ballydoyle operation between 2008 and 2010 then rode for the Aga Khan until August 2012.
Frankie Dettori, who like Murtagh has been in the upper echelon of Flat jockeys for a number of years, paid tribute to his great friend and former colleague.
“Johnny is probably one of the best judges of pace I’ve ever come across and one of the most hard working and talented jockeys I’ve ever ridden against,” he said.
Eddie Lynam provided Murtagh with a number of big-race victories, with the jockey producing a typically brilliantly judged ride to get Sole Power up in the last stride of last summer’s King’s Stand at Royal Ascot.
The jockey’s last ride was on the same horse in the Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin in December.
