42-year-old Former Champion Jockey Gets Emotional While Bidding Farewell During His Retirement

It is always an emotional moment when any athlete retires especially when they are a champion. Recently, the former jockey champion announced his retirement. He announced his final career ride, and all of this made him a bit emotional. Paul Hanagan is a classic-winning British flat racing jockey. The wins he has attained in his lifetime are commendable. This 42-year-old won his first title in 2010 with 191 winners.

In the span of 25 years, this man has won ten Group 1 races inculcating the Epsom Oaks. There are many other achievements he has in his pocket. But sadly, Paul Hanagan has announced his retirement and will now just appear in one last ride. This has now turned into an emotional moment for the entire equestrian community and Hanagan himself.

Paul Hanagan controls his tears while announcing his retirement

The champion Paul Hanagan has reached the stage of bidding goodbye. He has announced his retirement and will be retiring on 25th August 2023. According to Mirror, Hanagan will take his last ride in New York on Friday. This 42-year-old will be seen at the track for the last time in the first race for Richard Fahey. The achievements he has attained in his career of 25 years are commendable.

He has won Flat jockeys’ championship in 2010 and 2011 off the back of the late Hamda Al Maktoum. In 2012, after the retirement of Richard Hills, Hanagan was considered the first jockey for Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum. During this time, he also won his foremost British Classic on Taghrooda in the Oaks. And with this, he has also attained Group 1 wins.

The list of achievements for Hanagan is a big one. Now when it comes to retirement one of the reasons that led to the decision was a bad fall in February 2020. The physical imbalances gave Hanagan a hint for retirement. He is nothing but emotional at this stage of his career.

The champion jockey expresses his feelings on his retirement 

This 42-year-old Warrington-born jockey was fighting back tears while announcing his retirement. He expressed, “As you can imagine it’s quite emotional.” It was extremely difficult for Hanagan to take this step. He mentioned the fall back in 2020 February to be a reason for his retirement, he has never been exactly the same after the accident.

Hanagan expressed, “I fractured my back in three places and it’s not so much painful riding but it’s getting to the level of fitness you have to be to be a professional jockey.” And not just the accident, but this was his first season of freelancing, and he was struggling to continue like this. He found it difficult to go on with the position he was in. He finds the goodbye to be difficult, but he knows it’s for his own good.

Read more: “We Will All Miss Him Deeply”: Renowned Equestrian Center Bids Tearful Adieu to 30-Year-Old Horse Who Developed Painful Problem

After his retirement, Paul Hanagan will be seen as a director of racing for the Good Racing Company whose motive is to raise funds through horse racing. They sell memberships to racing syndicates for various horses and are popularly known for their hard work for Burrow.

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