Derby-winning jockey Martin Dwyer calls time on riding career

Derby-winning jockeyMartin Dwyer announced his retirement live on Racing TV on Sunday.

The regular Racing TV pundit, 48, has been on the sidelines since March of last year with a knee injury. He suffered a torn ACL when a leather broke while riding out for Brian Meehan and, despite several operations and strenuous efforts to regain full fitness, has been unable to return.

“It’s tough saying it out loud, I’ve got my head around it, I’ve known for quite a while now I’ve been struggling with the injury,” Dwyer told Nick Luck live from The Curragh.

“I’ve thrown the kitchen sink at the rehab. I went to see the surgeon again when I had another operation two months ago and he said it’s not going to be stable enough or strong enough to ride professionally.

“It is what it is and I’ve just got to get on with it. It’s been tough, obviously. I’ve been in pain for a long time, it just throbs constantly but I’ve been in good hands and the team at Oaksey House have been brilliant.”

Liverpool-born Dwyer rode 1543 winners in Britain from more than 15,000 rides but will always be best remembered for guiding Sir Percy to Classic glory at Epsom in 2006 for Marcus Tregoning.

In one of the closest Derby finishes there has ever been, Dwyer and his partner squeezed through the narrowest of gaps in the closing stages to prevail by a short head from Dragon Dancer. Dylan Thomas was a further head back in third with Hala Bek another short head in fourth.

Three years earlier, Dwyer had won the Oaks on Casual Look for Andrew Balding. He also won the Coronation Cup later in his career, on Pyledriver, meaning he is one of the few jockeys to have won all of Epsom’s most prestige prizes.

He and star stayer Persian Punch enjoyed a glittering association – their victories included the 2003 Goodwood Cup and 2004 Doncaster Cup - while he also enjoyed dizzy heights around the world on Phoenix Reach, winner of the Canadian International, Hong Kong Vase and Dubai Sheema Classic.

Numerous other big winners included Distant Prospect (2001 Cesarewitch), Dominica (2002 King’s Stand) High Accolade (2003 King Edward VII), Passing Glance (2004 Diomed), Sir Percy (2005 Dewhurst), Briseida (2008 German 1000 Guineas), Lady Of The Desert (2009 Lowther), Arcano (2009 July Stakes), Nayarra (2011 Gran Criterium), Stepper Point (2014 Flying Five) and Zhui Feng (2017 Royal Hunt Cup).

And, of course, his final days in the saddle were enriched by the hugely popular Pyledriver, trained by William Muir, his father-in-law.

Dwyer won the King Edward VII Stakes and Great Voltigeur on the bargain buy in 2020, plus the Coronation Cup and Churchill Stakes in 2021. His injury meant he was denied further glory on him in last year’s King George at Ascot plus this month’s Hardwicke Stakes.

He admitted both were a “tough watch” but was delighted for the horse and team behind him.

Dwyer’s skill and quick-thinking in the saddle was matched by his ability to deliver swift one-liners, pranks and generally jovial nature. A devout Everton fan, he has always said it pays to see the funny side in life.

The weighing-room will be poorer for his absence, but every cloud has a silver lining and it will mean he has more time to share his insight and expertise with Racing TV viewers.

His career began quietly, with one ride in 1992. During the next three seasons, he would chalk up 13 winners at a time when Pat Eddery and Frankie Dettori were taking it in turns to win the jockeys’ championship.

Things began to click for him in 1996, when he accumulated 36 winners, and the following year his tally of 57 victories included a couple of notable victories on Halmahera for Ian Balding. The trainer and his wife, Emma, were pivotal in the early part of his career after Dwyer's Dad had written a letter to the trainer telling him of his son's aspirations to be a jockey.

"My Dad drove me to Ian's and told me not to mess up because he said he didn't have enough money to get petrol to come back!", Dwyer said.

He didn't mess up. And he never looked back, with his most prolific period being between 2000 and 2010 when his annual winner tallies, in Britain, were 61, 65, 106, 90, 82, 82, 90, 70, 64, 86 and 68.

His final ride was Lucky Ava, third in a sprint handicap at Kempton. The filly had provided him with what turned out to be his final winner, at Chelmsford, the previous month.

Looking ahead to the future, he said: “I’m getting back to some normality but I’ve just got to accept my career is over and I’ve just got to get on with things. It’s tough because I’m not finishing on my terms.

“I’d like to go out like Frankie (Dettori) and do a world tour, but I’d probably be at Wolverhampton and Southwell!

“It’s been a tough year or so, but it’s time to move on to the next chapter. It’s been a journey that has been unbelievable.”