Walter Swinburn hopes to return to the training ranks at some point in the future.
The man who partnered the mighty Shergar to glory in the 1981 Derby is to hand in his licence at the end of October due to financial reasons, but said he was “confident” he would train again.
Swinburn took over the training licence from his father-in-law Peter Harris in November 2004, and has sent out over 260 winners from his yard in Tring, Hertfordshire.
“I didn’t want to make this decision but I have a feeling that it is the right one – a step back to go forward,” he told the Daily Mail.
“I feel confident I will come back at some point – it is just a question of where and when.
“But there was too much uncertainty and concern about whether we could fill the right amount of boxes to make the business viable.
“What we have found hard is the hole that has been left with Peter stepping back and there is nothing to fill that hole.
“It’s a big wrench and the timing is not ideal but a number of people have been helpful in producing figures that I understand and accept.
“What is becoming very clear is that unless prizemoney levels improve, not only are we going to lose the owners but also the horses to offers too good to refuse from richer racing countries.
“The disappointing thing is we were growing and had an excellent team all on the same wavelength. I had grown into the role and, as each year went by, I could see we were building.”
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