FINISHING WITH A WINNER IN SOUTH AFRICA: After last week’s column we moved on from Port Elizabeth to Turffontein near Johannesburg which was a much better track and much better racing.
We were slightly behind after Friday but Patsy Cosgrove did everything he could as he got a winner on Friday in the Challenge. I had a third which also added to the points but we were all looking forward to getting over to Turffontein and the competition was going to be very good as we were still close on points.
My last ride was one of the better fancied horses on the day and I was really looking forward to it as this 
was to be my last ride. As it turned out, I got a great ride from the one in the race before and we won at 16/1!
It was great to win it, especially the way it happened, just getting up by a short head. It was just such a happy ending and I got some great compliments from the other jockeys. Although the last one didn’t win, it didn’t matter at the stage for me even though we just got beaten overall by the South African jockeys who won it for the sixth year in a row.
All in all, it was a great holiday. We all really enjoyed ourselves. We did a Safari there and we had a couple of nights out and we are so well looked after there by the South African racing authorities. We didn’t have to pay for anything and all our partners were really well looked after as well. I think all the guys would be really keen to get going to it again next year.
I’m hoping to go again next year, not as a rider next time obviously, but I think the Championship needs to be promoted a bit better in the UK. The Shergar Cup is very well known around the world and it’s how I got selected for this Challenge and for the one in the Japan. I just think that it should be more of a two way street. At The Races show it live but there’s not much else said about it and we should be supporting these initiatives a bit more and hopefully I’ll be part of doing that next year.
MY LAST WEEK IN BRITAIN AS A JOCKEY
Looking back, having had the winner in Japan, I decided then that it was an ideal time to announce that I was going to be retiring from race riding. Everything that’s happened since then has just been amazing and the support that I’ve gotten has been great. So many trainers had some kind words to say and some trainers gave me rides that I hadn’t for in a long time so I was really happy with that.
Aside from the winner in Japan, which was a great experience, I also won a Group 3 at Ayr on Shaden for Lady Cecil. That was especially nice because the owners of Shaden were great supporters. I rode for them, got a lot of winners for them and they were great to ride for.
My final week was amazing. I had a great time at Southwell which was my local and they put on a great show for my family who were really well looked after by the guys at the track. They made a big fuss of us all and it was very nice. It was even better to have the winner for Conor who has been a great person to ride for over the years.
At Nottingham they did the same and although I didn’t get a winner that day, we were all so well looked after and they made a really nice presentation to me and that was really special.
I then had a winner at Chelmsford for Marcus Tregonning and I really enjoyed that one. Marcus has 
been very good to me over the years as well so it was a nice way to finish.
Although I didn’t have a winner at Doncaster Buonnaroti ran a superb race in the November Handicap. When I got to the paddock beforehand, Declan filled me a lot of confidence. He really fancied his chances and the horse ran such good race. We were unlucky to meet one that looks really good in Litigant.
It was a special day at Doncaster and funnily enough it wasn’t such a sad day. I don’t have any regrets and I’m just looking forward to what lies ahead.
HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT SPEECH
Since I came from South Africa I paid a visit to the Houses of Parliament. I had been asked a few weeks back to make a speech there so it was a little nerve-wracking. It went very well though after writing my notes on the plane on the way home.
I’m an ambassador for the Active Communities Network charity and had been invited by them to speak. There was about 100 people there but it all went very well.
The charity is to help underprivileged children who don’t finish their education and they use sport as a catalyst to encourage them to open up new opportunities. Rugby is one of the big sports for them.
It was a really interesting visit there and we were shown around to a lot of places that I wouldn’t have known about so I learned a lot while I was there.
HORSES TO FOLLOW
I can’t leave without giving a horse to follow for the All Weather.
Franklin D ran well recently for Michael Bell and he looks like the right type for the big all weather races. He ran a great race for me in the Cambridgeshire when he was drawn on the wrong side but still ran a great race that day. He’s high enough rated to go for the bigger races so he’s definitely one to keep an eye on.
Another to watch out for this weekend is Tom Dascombe’s Al Muheer. I know he’s been waiting for the right race for his Jockey Patrick Vaughan. He gets on really well with the horse and he’ll hopefully run well for him.
Keep an eye on BBC’s morning show tomorrow, I’ll be on for a interview and next week on At The Races.
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