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Paddy Brennan: Jockey retires after Cheltenham win on Manofthepeople

Published
5 hours ago

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Paddy Brennan
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,
Paddy Brennan was stable jockey to trainer Fergal O'Brien

Leading jump jockey Paddy Brennan has retired after riding a winner at Cheltenham
on Wednesday.

The 43-year-old Irishman, who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2010 on Imperial
Commander, ended his career with victory on Manofthepeople.

Brennan had more than 1,500 wins, including big races with Cue Card and the 2007
World Hurdle on Inglis Drever.

Imperial Commander upset racing greats Kauto Star and Denman when winning the Gold
Cup.

Brennan was stable jockey to Fergal O'Brien, and his last triumph came on a 9-1
shot for the Gloucestershire-based trainer.

The rider stood up in the stirrups and saluted the crowd as he passed the post in
front, before being congratulated by fellow riders and returning to emotional
scenes in the winner's enclosure.

"It's been a rollercoaster, so many ups, so many downs, but I feel like I've got to
the end of the ocean and walked onto the beach," he told Racing TV.

"It's been on my mind a few weeks, I've been asking opinions but I went for a
coffee with my wife this morning and I felt certain. It's time for the next
generation of jockeys.

"It's a tough gig, it's constant. Being a jockey is 95% disappointment. I've had
some enjoyment but I'm ready for the next chapter."

Brennan won the 2015 King George VI Chase on Cue Card and was in contention for
another Gold Cup with him later in the season before a late fall.

When victorious on Imperial Commander for trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies, he had

raised a finger to his lips after much of the pre-race talk had been about previous
winners Denman and Kauto Star.

"Denman and Kauto Star is all I've heard for the last three months. It's been good
for racing but it was never a two-horse race," said the Galway-born rider
afterwards.

Twist in the Gold Cup tale: Imperial Commander's triumph, external

Paddy Brennan winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Imperial Commander

IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,
Brennan and Imperial Commander beat Denman into second, with Kauto Star a faller,
in the 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup

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