Mick Kinane Retires

[fintron]

Always had a great deal of respect for Mick Kinane and sorry to see he's retired...whenever I think of Sea The Stars I'll think of Kinane. :clap Taken from SL..

It was published a while ago now and there has been untold success since, but surely no book could ever have been more appropriate to its subject matter than 'Big Race King'. For that is what Mick Kinane was. Any punter having a bet down the years would only feel more confident for seeing the name 'M J Kinane' against their fancy in the paper. It started some 34 years ago and even though the great man has called it a day at the age of 50, there can be little doubt he was riding as well as ever. When he landed that first success - Musicari at Leopardstown in March 1975 - the Vietnam War was entering its final bloody months, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson believed MI5 were plotting against him, and the first personal computers had recently gone on sale. Three decades later, used to the weighing-room company of jockeys half his age and having just enjoyed a season that words could barely do justice, it is all over. And the sport is without doubt a poorer place. 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 Aidan 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 John 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 won over 150 Group One or equivalent races across four different continents. Wherever racing is held, Kinane has conquered. Alongside a trio of Arc victories, Kinane won the 2000 Guineas four times and the Derby three times, including on the mighty Galileo in 2001. How apt, that Sea The Stars is a half-brother to that fellow great. On home soil he lifted all the Irish Classics. Down Under, he won the race that stops a nation - the Melbourne Cup - and half a world away he scooped the Japan Cup. In America he bagged a landmark success in the Belmont - the final leg of the American Triple Crown - with Go And Go. It would take a team of top mathematicians weeks to work out how much prize money he won for connections since the 1970s, but three or four Mick Kinanes could probably have covered the Apollo 11 mission. He was stable jockey at Ballydoyle for five seasons, having previously been with Dermot Weld from 1984 until 1998. Kinane and O'Brien shared phenomenal success during their association. Horses such as Galileo, High Chaparral, Rock Of Gibraltar, 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 One winners for Ballydoyle during that 12-month period. And there was the sublime Montjeu in the Coolmore colours of Tabor, and the mercurial George Washington. 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 - "a horse for the ages" as John McCririck rightly labelled him. Sea The Stars 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. Who knows when we will be fortunate enough to watch a horse with the talent of Sea The Stars again? But we could be waiting just as long before a jockey of Mick Kinane's ability, endurance and professionalism surfaces again.

Trainer John Oxx led the tributes from the racing world to Mick Kinane, after the jockey announced his retirement after 34 years in the saddle. Oxx's Sea The Stars provided Kinane with a glorious final year of his career, the trio teaming up to win six Group One races in 2009. Oxx snapped up Kinane's services when his association with Aidan O'Brien's Ballydoyle team ended in late 2003. A few years later, Sea The Stars was to provide them with their most dazzling moments. "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." Oxx naturally pointed to the six-time Group One winner as their high-point. "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 trainer told Sky Sports News. "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. "Fifty is a fair age for a jockey, but some of them will carry on a bit longer, particularly if they are not struggling with their weight. "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. He continued: "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 always kept himself fit but he was very dedicated to his craft and dedicated to improving his technique at all times. "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 was in demand all over Europe before Sunday racing came in in Ireland. 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." The Irish jockey won his first Derby at Epsom on Khalid Abdullah's Commander In Chief in 1993 - a victory he believes was a big turning point in his career. Trainer Dermot Weld believes Kinane would have been a success in any profession. "He was a world-class rider and a wonderful stable jockey in his 15 years with me, but he was much more than that," said Weld, one of many racing personalities to pay tribute to the 50-year-old. "He was a highly intelligent individual who would have been a success in any walk of life. "He rode over 1,000 winners for me. If I were to pick four I would go for Vintage Crop's win in the Melbourne Cup (1993), Go And Go in the Belmont Stakes (1990), Committed in the Prix de l'Abbaye (1985) and Additional Risk in the Hong Kong Bowl (1991). They were all fantastic rides." Johnny Murtagh, who is now first jockey at Ballydoyle, hailed Kinane's skills in the saddle. "He was an inspiration to me in many ways when I was growing up and when you were riding against him, you always wanted to beat him as if you beat him, you were beating the best," said Murtagh. "We were both riding for top stables and we've had so many battles over the years in big races, and it's great to see him going out on such a high. "He always said he'd know when it was the right time to stop and I think he's timed it right once again - just like he did so many times in his races! "We're all going to miss him in the weighing room in Ireland and he'll be a great loss to racing, but it's fantastic for him he can retire after such a brilliant year." Pat Smullen also battled with Kinane for many years in Irish Flat racing and now fills the role at Dermot Weld's Rosewell House stable that used to belong to his opponent. "Mick Kinane was probably my idol when I started riding," said Smullen. "He is an absolute professional and his riding set the standard, definitely in Irish racing and also in European racing. "It has been a pleasure and an honour to have ridden against him. "Mick has always been helpful, both in the early days and then definitely when I got the job with Dermot Weld. "His door was always open and not only has he been a great rival, but a good friend." Leading trainer Mick Channon described Kinane as a "credit to the game". "He's been a great jockey and has gone out at the top with Sea The Stars," Channon told At The Races. "He's been an amazing jockey for as long as I can remember and he's a smashing chap as well. "It's sad to lose someone like that, but what a great career he's had and he's probably going out when he's feeling good. "I wish him all the best and I think he's been an absolute credit to the game." John Hammond and Kinane shared victories with Montjeu in big races such as the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes. And the English-born French-based trainer feels all budding riders should look up to Kinane. "His whole career is a great example to any young jockey starting out," he said. "Not only very talented, but he was very hard working and very discreet. "He was champion apprentice and he is now 50. He has stayed at the top all the way through his career thanks to a lot of hard work, application, dedication and discretion. "There are many that reach the heights early in their careers then hit the skids and go wrong. He held it together the whole way through. "It's not just being a good jockey, it's more than that. It's keeping your head down and working hard. "I first knew him vaguely when I was working at Michael Kauntze's in my school holidays and it was his first job as a stable jockey. "I know him from way gone by and I much admired his dad (Tommy) when he was riding Monksfield. "Mick has had a great career and has just had a fantastic year. For that horse (Sea The Stars) to co at the end of his career was so good - you couldn't have written it. "It was great fun working in collaboration with him with Montjeu. He did a wonderful job on the horse. "He was a superstar with the horse and there were great moments together." Many of Kinane's other big-race wins came for master Newmarket trainer Sir Michael Stoute. He added: "Michael Kinane was the ultimate professional; he extended his professionalism to his work riding, and his timing to his retirement. "I greatly enjoyed my association with him. Thank you MJK." Channel 4 racing pundit John McCririck believes Kinane has made the right decision in retiring now after the success he enjoyed on Sea The Stars. "What a fantastic way to go out on a horse for the ages," he said. "What defines Michael Kinane is the very few mistakes he made. When he was riding, time and time again he had his horse in the right place. "He was uncanny in that and also with his judgement and his iron nerve. It didn't matter what the race was or wherever it was, he was nerveless. The huge occasions he went through, the pressures he had with Sea The Stars and on so many other horses in the past. "That's why Aidan O'Brien had him for so long, because you knew he would give the horse a ride that was as virtually flawless as it could be. "There have been few riders ever who have been so consistent in giving their horses excellent rides as Mick Kinane. "And he was also a lovely man, a real gentleman. "When he left Ballydoyle he didn't go to the press, there was no complaining, no whining. And O'Brien showed his respect for the man by bringing him back and he rode many horses for O'Brien and Coolmore after that. "He's a tribute to racing and it's very sad to lose him but he couldn't go out on a higher note."

[Trotter]

Re: Mick Kinane Retires Nice tributes there to one of the best !