Starry-eyed Mick Kinane bows out on an ultimate high

Published on Tuesday 8 December 2009 22:37

IRISH jockey Mick Kinane, who rode Sea the Stars to an unprecedented six Group 1 wins this Flat season, has retired at the very top of his game after a hugely successful 34-year career in the saddle.

"I made the decision a little while ago. It was just a question of timing," said 50-year-old Kinane

A 13-time champion jockey in his homeland, Kinane rode more than 100 Group 1 winners, including four in the 2,000 Guineas and three in the Epsom Derby. He claimed the biggest races in Japan and Australia while Sea the Stars was his third success in the Prix De L'Arc de Triomphe, the richest horse race in Europe.

"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," Kinane said in a statement.

After scoring his first winner at Leopardstown in 1975, Kinane went on to be retained by leading trainers such as Dermot Weld, Aidan O'Brien and latterly John Oxx as he developed a reputation as an unflappable big-race rider.

It was his partnership with Sea the Stars which will live longest in the memory, with record-breaking victories in 2009 in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, Derby and the Arc in Paris in October. "Sea the Stars was undoubtedly the most complete package you could ask for in a racehorse," Kinane said when asked about his favourite mount.

Oxx, trainer of Sea the Stars, paid tribute to the jockey, saying: "Mick Kinane was just the complete professional in every way. 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."

Kinane added: "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."

As for the future, he said: "I have my farm and plenty of things to keep me busy. I have no real plans at present. I'll just take some time out."

Kinane will be missed by his peers, owners, trainers and a legion of grateful punters who could count on the gifted horseman to give his all in the saddle.

Any betting shop customer having a wager down the years would only feel more confident for seeing the name 'M J Kinane' against their fancy in the paper.

Oft-used adage it may be, but Kinane really was like fine wine – he just got better and better and better. He didn't just ride great horses, he rode brilliant horses. And there were plenty of them. Too many to mention.

Of course, few predicted Kinane would enjoy such a final season, one that would ensure his name is forever etched in the annals of Turf history as the partner of the mighty Sea The Stars, without doubt the greatest racehorse of his generation and perhaps the best of all-time.

After parting ways with O'Brien at the end of the 2003 season it was widely speculated that Kinane, then 44, had had his day; that his career would begin an inevitable decline as his position was usurped by younger rivals. Instead, Kinane enjoyed an Indian summer to his illustrious career. Joining Oxx as his retained jockey the following season was a defining moment as it turned out.

While Kinane will always be associated with Sea The Stars, it will not be forgotten that his career has stretched across four different decades and encompassed almost 1,500 winners.

He was stable jockey at Ballydoyle for five seasons, having previously been with Weld from 1984 until 1998. Kinane and O'Brien shared phenomenal success during their association.

Horses such as Galileo, High Chaparral, Rock Of Gibraltar – co-owned by Sir Alex Ferguson – Imagine and Hawk Wing made them one of the most feared partnerships in racing, along with owners John and Sue Magnier and Michael Tabor. Arguably their best year was 2001, with Kinane riding 17 Group or Grade 1 winners for Ballydoyle during that 12-month period.

And there was the sublime Montjeu in the Coolmore colours of Tabor, and the mercurial, but ill-fated George Washington, who had to be put down at the 2007 Breeders' Cup. Few jockeys experience the pleasure of riding even one horse of that quality, but then even fewer were as adept horsemen as Mick Kinane.

His ability to judge the pace of a race set him apart from most jockeys, as did his capacity to ride brilliant tactical races yet remain intimately in tune with the animal underneath him. On those rare occasions he made mistakes, Kinane was always the first to admit them and the first to admonish himself. More importantly, he learned his lessons and always came back for more. That combination of natural talent and sheer professionalism crafted Kinane into one of the world's finest jockeys and endeared him to owners, trainers, pressmen and punters alike.

But for of all the thoroughbreds Kinane rode in his career, none compared to Sea The Stars. The colt defied expectations, one race at a time, never quite revealing his full talent, always leaving viewers and connections alike convinced there was more to come. He suited the understated Kinane to perfection.

FACTFILE

Born: 22 June, 1959, Tipperary.

Married: To Catherine, in 1982. Two daughters.

Father: Tommy, won Champion Hurdle on Monksfield in 1978.

Apprenticeship: With Liam Browne. First winner: Muscari at Leopardstown, March 1975.

Irish champion jockey: Ten times.

British Classic winners: 2,000 Guineas: Tirol 1990, Entrepreneur 1997, King Of Kings 1998, Sea The Stars 2009. Derby: Commander In Chief 1993, Galileo 2001, Sea the Stars 2009. Oaks: Shahtoush 1998, Imagine 2001. St Leger: Milan 2001.

Irish Classic winners: 1000 Guineas: Trusted Partner 1988, Yesterday 2003, Saoire 2005. 2000 Guineas: Dara Monarch 1982, Flash Of Steel 1986, Sea The Stars 2009. Oaks: Alydaress 1989, Dance Design 1996. St Leger: Vintage Crop 1993 & 1994, Kastoria 2006.

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winners: Carroll House 1989, Montjeu 1999, Sea The Stars 2009.

Breeders' Cup winners: Johannesburg (Juvenile) 2001, High Chaparral (2002 and 2003).

Other information: Kinane rode 17 Group or Grade One winners for trainer Aidan O'Brien in 2001. He also bred 2007 Derby winner Authorized.