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Wins his last grade 1 as first jockey for JP.
Good.
Should pick up a few decent spares next season
I thought retirement was considered, but there could be some decent rides to pick up from other stables.
His moneys made long ago riding for McManus and now that’s he’s no longer No1 jockey, is it worth the risk at 40yo?
He’s the same age as McCoy and Geraghty and older than Walsh when they retired.I think it’s silly to risk serious injury now at his age. Graeme Lee said the handy money was keeping him going but now would give up every winner he ever rode for good health.
It is up to him but it is difficult to see where the quality winners will come from now that he doesn’t have the green and gold silks to put on. All the good jobs in Ireland are taken.
If I was in his shoes, I wouldn’t really want to be somewhere like Clonmel on a rainy Thursday and see Cobden steer home a quality McManus novice on the bridle, while I was a distance behind on something trained by Mr trains half a dozen winners a season if he is lucky.
Nor me CAS but jump jockeys tend to know when to call it a day (often on the day itself).
“If I was in his shoes, I wouldn’t really want to be somewhere like Clonmel on a rainy Thursday and see Cobden steer home a quality McManus novice on the bridle, while I was a distance behind on something trained by Mr trains half a dozen winners a season if he is lucky.”
Through the McManus job, Walsh has forged a relationship with lots of Mr Trains Half a Dozen Winners already and could be the chosen jockey if Mr 6W gets his hands on a good horse. Of course, many of these will be snapped up by JP – Saratoga’s trainer , Padraig Roche, trained 6 winners in the Irish jumps season just gone- but not all. Ted Walsh also trained 6 winners this year,the most recent being a listed winner at Punchestown. Jessica Harrington trained 9, and has used Mark Walsh before on non JP horses, as has Mouse Morris.
Walsh is a safe pair of hands on a graded horse, but can also give a youngster a nice education and of course can smuggle one around for a mark so has plenty of skills. I don’t think he’ll be too short of rides even if they’re not grade 1 steering jobs.
Given the ammunition JP has and Cobden can only ride one horse per race, why wouldn’t he continue riding especially when JP’s first string doesn’t always win a lot of the time.
Yes he will not be riding the marquee horses (unless JP is double handed in races or has entries at multiple meetings or Cobden is injured and/or suspended) but he would still be riding a lot better quality horses than if he went out on his own.
Given the truly professional and classy way he dealt with losing the job and that he continued riding winners as the job came to an end, JP would be crazy not to use him as a back-up whenever/wherever possible.
No reason for him to retire unless his heart is now not really in it and if that is the case you do just walk away….pretty sure JP would have a job for him somewhere in his organisation, hell he would be a far better addition in the role that that misery chops AP currently does.
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