Sublimity rider Carberry retires to support wife Louisa's training career

Another member of the revered Carberry dynasty has been lost to the riding ranks after Champion Hurdle-winning jockey Philip Carberry announced his retirement from a long and successful career in the saddle.

The French-based 36-year-old, who rode seven Grade 1 winners in three countries and more than 300 winners in total, has decided to concentrate on supporting his wife Louisa’s training career.

In 2006, Carberry added his own chapter to the family's storied association with the Irish Grand National when securing local glory on the Pat Hughes-trained 20-1 shot Point Barrow. The following year, he achieved the biggest victory of a career that spanned 17 years when winning the Champion Hurdle on John Carr's Sublimity.

"I have been lucky over the years and have experienced some amazing success," Carberry said of his tenure in the saddle.

"From my Grand National victory on Point Barrow to Sublimity in the Champion Hurdle, I have been blessed by what is a truly magnificent sport. To be a part of the family tradition and to play my part in keeping it going is something I will forever cherish."

Carberry completed a 2007 Cheltenham Festival double on the Tony Mullins-trained Pedrobob in the County Hurdle. He would subsequently link up formally with long-standing ally and leading Chantilly trainer Francois Cottin and relocated to France.

Chief among his big-race haul there are two famous wins in the Grand Steeplechase de Paris on the diminutive mare Princess D'Anjou. When winning the race for a first time in 2006, Carberry became the first foreign rider to claim what is recognised as the French Gold Cup since Fred Winter's triumph on Mandarin in 1962.

In 2014, his wife Louisa began training from their Senonnes base near Angers in the west of France, and the yard has grown into a 50-box state of the art training centre.

“France has proved to be a good move for me career wise, and my association with Francois Cottin yielded the sort of glory I could have only dreamt possible," Carberry said of his relocation.

"However, with Carberry Racing Stables really on the up for both myself and Louisa, and also dedicating as much time to our daughter Sophie as possible, the time seemed right to hand in my licence.

"My brother Peter-Jon has now taken over as stable jockey and I will be forever grateful for the memories, and I look forward to making many more on my new path.”

Carberry's elder brother and former champion jockey Paul was forced into retirement by injury last August, while his younger sister Nina has not ridden since announcing that she was pregnant with her first child in November. The former champion amateur has since given birth to a baby girl whom she and husband Ted Walsh Jnr have named Rosie.