The International Jockeys' Challenge in Hong Kong is an event I always enjoyed, even though I had very little luck whenever I rode in it. But I loved my trips there—obviously the racing is very competitive, and everything is very professionally organised by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. This year's line-up of jockeys was the [...]

The announcement of Donnacha O'Brien's retirement from the saddle didn't come as a huge surprise but I am nevertheless sorry to see him step down. I think we all understand the difficulty he has in keeping his weight down but I'm not sure that everyone quite appreciates the effort and the commitment that went into him [...]

Though there's no real banker or stand out from Europe this year at the Breeders' Cup, especially now that Magical (Ire) has been scratched, the team out there is bound to be competitive. For whatever reason, at Santa Anita the European horses seem to adapt to Californian racing quicker than they do when the Breeders' [...]

Oisin Murphy didn't end up with a big winner on Saturday but he's had a big year and that is the important thing. On Saturday I was thinking back to the work rate he has put in this year. He has ridden all over, travelling by plane, by helicopter, however he could get there to [...]

Pinatubo (Ire) put up another wonderful performance at Newmarket in the Dewhurst and there's no question in my mind that he won despite the ground. That's a real sign of a champion, the fact that he's able to overcome adversity. I don't think we saw the best of him on the day—the slow ground took [...]

It was great to be at the new ParisLongchamp for the first time. I really enjoyed my weekend and the racing was absolutely tremendous but it was a huge shame about the weather. So much rain fell in such a short space of time and it was well documented beforehand the John Gosden was concerned [...]

Unfortunately there has been another positive test for cocaine in the jockey ranks. While I fully appreciate that people can make mistakes and deserve a second chance, it is becoming more and more common and this is quite concerning. I understand as much as anybody the pressures of the job. Whether it is a young [...]

The jockeys' championship in Ireland is really hotting up. Donnacha O'Brien and Colin Keane are fighting it out at the top and at this time of the year, when bodies are starting to get a little bit tired, every winner counts. It's a very tight race for the title at the moment with only one [...]

The Longines Irish Champions Weekend was everything that we had hoped for and more. There's no question that there was the biggest buzz at the Curragh since it reopened, not because of me but because of what we were trying to achieve, and there was an electric atmosphere for the charity race. It was something really [...]

I'd like to apologise for being missing for the last couple of weeks. It has obviously been well documented that I had a setback with my health but we are working our way through things and hopefully we can get back on an even keel in the very near future. I'm working through my treatment and [...]

We've had two really good festivals over the last week and the quality of racing at Goodwood was superb. Again John Gosden and Frankie Dettori took centre stage but I think the highlight was really Deirdre (Jpn) winning the Nassau Stakes. Japan is such a great racing nation and I think we'll see more and [...]

It's becoming a habit that every week we are speaking about John Gosden and Frankie Dettori. Frankie gave us a masterclass of a ride on Star Catcher (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the Oaks at the Curragh on Saturday; it was poetry in motion to watch. While Frankie may well have been on the [...]