'It's going to be sad, it won't be the same without him' - Richard Fahey leads tributes to retiring Paul Hanagan

Paul Hanagan has announced he will have his final ride at York on Friday before retiring after a quarter of a century in the saddle. His former boss Richard Fahey was among those to pay tribute to the dual champion jockey following the news . . .

Richard Fahey, trainer
All good things come to an end. We've been together an awful long time and he met his wife in the yard. It's going to be sad, it won't be the same without him. He's very reliable and very nice. I'm sure he'll be well missed in the weighing room. He rode lots of winners for me and there were loads of great days, but I remember him winning the Group 1 in France on Wootton Bassett, that was a memorable day. We had a terrible flight over, we were in a small aircraft and the pilot got the hour wrong so it left us very late. For him to go and win was great, especially as it was my first Group 1 winner.

Kevin Darley, 2000 champion jockey
Paul is a top man and a gentleman. He's a very well-liked character in the weighing room and always has been. It was a bit of a breakthrough when I won the championship as a northern jockey and it was great to see Paul do it twice afterwards. He's had a very good career, and had a great time riding some top horses for Sheikh Hamdan. I'm sure he'll be missed by his colleagues as he was one of the go-to guys for the younger riders. I wish him all the best for the future.

Richard Kingscote, jockey
Paul is a lovely man and had a fabulous career – one anyone would be proud to have had. He's a real gentleman and has always been a sensible voice to go to. He'll definitely be missed and I wish him well.

Charlie Hills, trainer
Paul has been the ultimate professional and great to have an association with. We had some great success together, he gave Muhaarar some fine rides and we've carried on using him as much as we can since. If you look at his stats in photo-finishes, he was as good as anyone. Not only that, he's just a brilliant guy.

Read these next:

'The body is telling me no' - dual champion jockey Paul Hanagan to retire from riding at York on Friday 

Classic winners, star sprinters and Shadwell aces - Paul Hanagan's five best horses 

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