'I'll cherish these days forever' - Paddy Brennan retires with Cheltenham winner

Gold Cup-winning jockey Paddy Brennan spoke of his pride at “leaving my mark” on the weighing room after retiring on a winning high at Cheltenham on Manothepeople.

Brennan rode more than 1,500 winners in a near 20-year career – with highlights including victory in Cheltenham’s biggest race aboard Imperial Commander in 2010 and King George glory aboard Cue Card – and enjoyed one final special moment when scoring in a 3m2f handicap chase and being greeted with a hero's reception.

Brennan, who turned 43 on Saturday, rode the first runner for the Fergal O’Brien stable in 2011 and fittingly finished his career aboard one for the trainer who has given him close to 500 jumps winners – more than for any other yard. The swansong came at his local track, a place which the jockey said still “makes me tingle”  

Originally from Galway, Brennan said: "I've been in this country 27 years and I've been so, so lucky. It's been a rollercoaster, so many ups and so many downs, but I feel like I've got to the end of the ocean and walked on to the beach.

"I've been mulling it over for weeks and asking so many people's opinions. I kept saying to Fergal I don't want to ride that, I don't want to ride that and I just got to that stage. Cheltenham is the best place in the world, so it's special to do it here. I'll cherish these days forever.

Paddy Brennan: "I'm so pleased to have worked with the best in the game and I'm so proud of some of the young lads in that weighing room"Credit: Grossick Racing

"That was special. You want to go out here and to have a winner is extra special. I often think if I wave to the stands there might not be anyone there. Even when you drive past this place to get your shopping it gives you tingles. Cheltenham is that kind of place. It's unique.”

All of the weighing room came out to salute one of its most admired but vociferous characters. Brennan has been candid about his post-race outbursts down the years but has also become one of the respected voices over topics such as the whip and social media abuse directed at riders.

Brennan said: "It’s time for the next generation of jockeys. I'm so pleased to have worked with the best in the game and I'm so proud of some of the young lads in that weighing room. It's a tough gig. It's constant.

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"I've left my mark in there. I'm a strict kind of lad, I've done plenty of shouting and roaring, but I love them all. Being a jockey is 95 per cent disappointment and I've had that but I'm ready for the next chapter.”

Brennan nominated his narrow King George victory with Cue Card over Vautour in 2015 as the highlight of a tremendous career in the saddle. He built up an incredible relationship with the Colin Tizzard-trained chaser, landing two Betfair Chases, an Aintree Bowl and Ascot Chase, although the rider said he was “haunted” by his fall when travelling well in the 2016 Gold Cup. 

Cue Card and Paddy Brennan after winning the King George VI Chase in 2015Credit: Mark Cranham

Having started out on the Flat in Ireland with Jim Bolger, Brennan switched to jumps and relocated to join Paul Nicholls. He moved on to ride for fellow West Country trainer Philip Hobbs and his career took off when he became champion conditional in the 2004-05 season.

The rising star then headed north to link up with trainer Howard Johnson and owner Graham Wylie – a powerful force at the time and the team behind Brennan's 2007 Stayers' Hurdle winner Inglis Drever – before joining Nigel Twiston-Davies to forge his Gold Cup-winning partnership with Imperial Commander. 

In a classic contest for the Cheltenham Festival's most famous prize, Brennan's mount overcame Denman and Kauto Star with a seven-length victory. Imperial Commander also took the Ryanair and Betfair Chase with Brennan in the saddle.

Imperial Commander and Paddy Brennan soak up the applause as they win the 2010 Gold Cup at CheltenhamCredit: Edward Whitaker

He became a key ally when Twiston-Davies's assistant O'Brien started out on his own, playing a crucial part in the trainer's progress to the higher echelon in Britain.

O'Brien, who has now trained over 850 winners, said: "What a way to do it and this is what he deserves. I've never made a secret about what he does, he'll be a huge loss, but that's not the end of Paddy Brennan and Fergal O'Brien. It could be the start of something else. Fingers crossed, we can keep going forward.

"Manothepeople – it's very apt for Paddy. It was important to do it here."

Paddy Brennan CV

Full name Patrick Joseph Brennan

Born April 13, 1981

First mount Nazario (trainer Jim Bolger) 6th on Flat, Curragh, October 31, 1997

First winner Ivory Isle (trainer Jim Bolger) on Flat, Gowran Park, August 12, 1998

First winner over jumps Classic Grounds, Gowran Park, September 14, 2000

First winner in Britain Sirmoor Rifles, Wincanton, April 16, 2001

First Grade 1 winner Ashley Brook (2005 Maghull Novices' Chase)

Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Imperial Commander (2010)

Ryanair Chase winner Imperial Commander (2009)

World (Stayers') Hurdle winner Inglis Drever (2007)

King George VI Chase winner Cue Card (2015)

Betfair Chase winners Imperial Commander (2010), Cue Card (2015, 2016)

Ascot Chase winner Cue Card (2017)

Aintree Bowl winners Nacarat (2011), Cue Card (2016)

Melling Chase winner God's Own (2016)

Punchestown Champion Chase winner God's Own (2016)

Paddy Power Gold Cup winner Imperial Commander (2008)

Scottish Grand National winner Hello Bud (2009)

Aintree Hurdle winner Khyber Kim (2010)

Other Cheltenham Festival winners Shamayoun (2006 Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle), Ballyfitz (2008 Pertemps Hurdle Final), Pigeon Island (2010 Grand Annual Chase)

Grand National runner-up Saint Are (2015, to Many Clouds)

1,000th win over jumps (GB/Ireland combined) Colin's Sister, Warwick, November 16, 2016

Last winner Manothepeople, Cheltenham, April 17, 2024

Highest-rated mounts (RPRs) Imperial Commander (182 in 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup), Cue Card (180 in 2015 King George VI Chase)

Grade 1 wins 18

Cheltenham Festival wins 6

Champion conditional jockey 2004-05 (67 wins)

Highest position in jockeys' championship 4th (2007-08)

Most wins in a season 104 (2007-08)

Total wins over jumps in GB/Ireland 1,516 (GB 1,513, Ireland 3) plus 9 on the Flat

Compiled by John Randall

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Three of the best: legends Cue Card and Imperial Commander among Paddy Brennan's greatest rides 

Paddy Brennan: 'I was in a dark place - I thought about it every single day for two years. I blamed myself' 

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