Racing

Jockey Jamie Moore calls time on riding career on medical advice

39-year-old suffered fractured vertebra as well as broken ribs and a broken nose in heavy fall last November

Jamie Moore and his father and trainer Gary following Sire de Grugy's win in the 2014 Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham. Photograph: David Davies/PA Wire
Jamie Moore and his father and trainer Gary following Sire de Grugy's win in the 2014 Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham. Photograph: David Davies/PA Wire
Thu Feb 15 2024 - 15:10

Cheltenham Festival-winning jockey Jamie Moore has announced his retirement from the saddle on medical advice following a fall last year.

Moore, 39, is the son of trainer Gary and the brother of Josh, Ryan and Hayley – all of whom are well-known faces in the racing industry.

After starting out in 2001, Moore was the champion conditional rider at the end of the 2003-04 season when based in Somerset with Martin Pipe, for whom he rode his first significant winners in graded events.

Naturally much of his riding was on behalf of his father and it was the popular chestnut Sire De Grugy who became the horse of a lifetime for both when winning the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham in 2014 – one of 17 victories, with Moore in the saddle each time.

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Moore rode 968 winners across his career and took the 2014 Scottish Grand National on Al Co for trainer Peter Bowen in the same season that Sire De Grugy was on the Grade One-winning streak that saw him named British jumps horse of the year.

A heavy fall at Lingfield in late November last year left the rider with a fractured vertebra as well as broken ribs and a broken nose, with doctors advising him not return to the saddle as a result of the injuries he sustained.

In a statement issued via the Professional Jockeys Association, he said: “It is with huge regret that, following my last fall in November 2023, I will not be returning to race riding.

“After being checked by top neurologists and spinal specialists, and taking advice from Dr Jerry Hill and the doctors who’ve seen me the most in my career – Dr Rizwan Ghani and Dr Lucy Free – I have been medically advised not to race ride again.

“I would like to thank everyone who has stuck by me and supported me throughout my 22-year career. Obviously I have been very lucky to have such a good trainer in my father Gary, who’s always supported me, along with his brilliant, faithful owners. My mother Jayne and my wife Lucie have also always been there for me.

“Back to the start and my first boss, Mr Pipe, who helped me become champion conditional. To every other trainer and every owner I’ve ridden for; my agent Dave Roberts; my sponsors; all the brilliant stable staff and the PJA and the Injured Jockeys Fund, who have always been so supportive.

“Finally, to the best place you could wish to work – the weighing room. To all the physios, tea boys and ladies, nurses and weighing room staff who have made each day of going to work much more enjoyable.

“And to all the brilliant jockeys and valets past and present who I’ve made lifelong friends with. I will hugely miss the weighing room. There have been some ups and plenty of downs but everyone is always there for you. You’ve all been top class.

“It’s impossible to put into words how thankful I am to each and every one of you.”

Dale Gibson, executive director of the PJA, added: “Jamie unfortunately suffered more than his fair share of long-term injuries and missed the equivalent of four years race riding during his career as a result, but his remarkable fortitude and appetite for race riding shone like a beacon throughout his career.

“Jamie was and will remain universally popular within the weighing room and wider racing industry. His down to earth, no-nonsense approach alongside his genuine love of the horse [should] be wholeheartedly applauded.

“He also served his colleagues and the PJA exceptionally well as southern-based National Hunt safety officer since December 2019, as well as being a dependable source for general advice to the PJA and younger jockeys both on and off the racecourse.

“Jamie has been a pleasure to represent and will be sorely missed in the weighing room. We wish him, his wife Lucie and their family all the very best and we look forward to seeing him on a racecourse soon in his second career.”