Legendary rider Pat Eddery was blanked in five tries while saying good-bye to a 37-year British racing career Saturday at Doncaster.
The 11-time British champion was third aboard favored Gamut for Sir Michael Stoute with his last mount, and received a thunderous cheer from the crowd afterward.
In his final day, Eddery was warned by stewards, who cautioned him for whip use in future races after one ride, and endured a number of practical jokes played on him by fellow riders. He took it all with a bemused smile.
"Everyone has been great to me," he said with his wife Carolyn on hand. "These last few months have been something else, and today was overwhelming."
"Pat and I have had a lot of success down the years," Stoute said. "The two that stand out are Colorspin in the Irish Oaks and Milligram in the Queen Elizabeth II. He's been a great jockey, and probably his greatest forte was that he had the most beautiful hands."
Eddery, 51, leaves as the second leading jockey in British racing history with 4,632 wins, behind only Gordon Richards' 4,870. He won the English Derby three times and the the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe four times. He had two Breeders' Cup wins as well.
Eddery rode at least 100 winners every year from 1973 to 2001, except for 1982. He won more than 200 races in 1990.
While Doncaster will mark his final British appearance, his last race will be in Mauritius on Dec. 7.
Eddery, among the most popular jockeys among fans and colleagues in Britain, announced his retirement in the summer.
He's ridden several prominent horses, including Dancing Brave, Grundy, El Gran Senor, Bosra Sham, and Golden Fleece.
Eddery plans to devote more time to Pat Eddery Racing Ltd., a joint venture that manages and develops racehorses.
Jockey Kieren Fallon suggested – with a smile – that the public might have not seen the last of Eddery in the saddle.
"I think he'll be back," he said. "He's been riding so well, he's got to come back."
