Madam, – As a keen fan of horse racing and sport in general I would like to pay tribute to one of Ireland’s greatest sporting legends. Mick Kinane who announced his retirement from the saddle on Tuesday (Sport, December 9th).
At 50 years of age he has given 34 years of his life to the sport of horse racing and what a 34 years it has been. He won the Belmont Stakes in America for trainer Dermot Weld onboard Go and Go in 1990 and won the Melbourne Cup on Vintage Crop in 1993.
He has ridden close to 1,500 winners in his career and expressed the wish to retire at the top. Few can argue that he has made the right decision after his six Group One wins on the racing sensation Sea The Stars this year.
That was probably the greatest achievement of his illustrious 34-year career – and there have been many.
I hope that racing can find a new role for him now that he has retired from the saddle and let’s hope that there is another chapter to come, because racing and Ireland need great people like Mick Kinane. – Yours, etc,