Leith Innes rubber stamped his exit from race riding in the best possible way … on top, winning a Group 1 with a ride that was lauded by all who saw it.
That ride came aboard the Roger James and Robert Wellwood-trained Pinarello in the Queensland Derby on Saturday and, even before the dust had settled on that notable achievement, Innes announced his retirement with immediate effect adding the line that he would not be changing his mind.
“It was a pretty huge day and just good to go out on a good note,” Innes told the New Zealand Racing Desk. “I had been thinking about it all for a while now and, as far as I am concerned, it was one hundred percent the right thing to do.
“I am very comfortable with the decision I have made and thankful that during my career I got to ride some amazing horses for some very good trainers and have the success that I did achieve.”
Pinarello was Group 1 winner number thirty-one for Innes … those thirty-one wins forming the pinnacle of a career which saw Inness gather in 1567 wins which included 183 stakes winners overall.
The win on Pinarello came twenty-four years after Innes’s first Group 1 victory aboard Tobruk in the 1998 Gr.1 Bayer Classic at Otaki.
“I’m only 44 but the older you get the harder it is to waste to make weight on race-day and it was even harder during the COVID lockdown as your weight just goes up when you are not riding on a regular basis.
“I was very fortunate to have Brendan and Jo Lindsay (the owners of Pinarello) support me the way they did, so I’m thrilled I could repay them with a win in a Group One.”
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