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Colman Sweeney calls it a day! Photo: Tom Hurley

Kilworth resident and Castlelyons native Colman Sweeney who was a three-time Cheltenham Foxhunters winner, has announced his retirement from the saddle via twitter.

“I decided to do it that way. In the lead up I had changed my phone number but was still getting calls to ride,” he said this week.

In a career that saw him ride 206 point-to-point winners and 59 track winners, he told The Avondhu that he just felt that the time was right to walk away 'and the signs were there'.

“I just knew I had come to the end of it. It was getting harder to maintain my bottom riding weight and rides on good horses were getting harder to come by. I got a full time job with IRIS (Irish Racing Integrity Services) and I just wouldn’t be able to do both jobs. Amateur racing is basically full time these days.”

Sweeney’s job with IRIS entails being a cameraman and he would like to go down the editing route. Asked about the horse that meant most to him during his career, the answer was straightforward.

“Salsify without a doubt. He rejuvenated my career in 2011 when I came back after an injury. He gave me two of the greatest race days of my career and he was trained by my father. 2012 Cheltenham Foxhunters was my biggest win and I can’t forget Denman who won the Gold Cup.”

The 33 year old got plenty of injuries over his career which is par for the course but admits that some of them he would attribute to having to lose weight quickly with crash diets. That was one of the reasons he never went down the road of being fully professional.

“I remember losing 12 lbs in 2 days. That involved a lot of running and being in the sauna. Adrian Maguire remarked that anyone who turns pro has to get used to that life.”

In fact Colman admits that there’s tremendous pressure on jockeys to maintain their riding weights.

“My bottom riding weight was 11 stone and I often went over it. It’s different for every jockey but I definitely think there should be a dietician for amateur jockeys in Ireland. If there’s one at the moment, I don’t know of them. The Turf Club should try and support amateur jockeys with eating guides.”

Colman who competed in his first point-to-point aged 12 and was riding ponies before that, says his advice for any jockey starting out is to work hard and their chance will come.

“John Thomas  (McNamara) was meant to ride Salsify but he got injured and I rode instead and won the Foxhunters at Cheltenham.”

He denies that the recent decision of Tony McCoy to retire had any impact on his decision but cites him as a big role model of his. What’s certain is that Colman Sweeney the jockey will miss and be missed by the sport to which he has contributed so much. We wish him all the best with IRIS.

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