'My head says yes, the body says no' - superagent Dave Roberts calls it a day

Jockeys' agent extraordinaire Dave Roberts, the man whose efforts helped Tony McCoy land 20 straight championships, is hanging up his phone and contacts book.

Roberts is retiring on Saturday after 36 years of 15-hour days, securing rides for all the top jump jockeys. The 62-year-old was also agent to Richard Johnson, McCoy's successor as champion, and had no fewer than 69 riders on his hands at the peak of his business.

Explaining the decision, he said: "I've always done it for a whole season. Could I do it for another year? My head says yes, the body probably says no.

"You're up at 5am every day and in the winter when it's busy you can be on the phone until 8pm. And now it's 12 months a year jump racing you don't get the break that you used to have. It's demanding and I'm quite proud of doing it for 36 years."

Tony McCoy (left): among the top jockeys that Dave Roberts booked rides forCredit: Edward Whitaker

Despite his great success, Roberts revealed he initially became an agent almost as an afterthought back in 1986. "I was managing some horses for an Indian owner who went back to America and I was left in limbo," he recalled. "The horses were with Geoff Lewis and I said to him, 'I have to find a job in racing, what can I do?'

"A couple of weeks later Geoff randomly said, 'Why not be a jockeys' agent?'. I said, 'What does one of those do?' and he said, 'Why don't you be Jason Swift's agent, see if you can get him some rides?'. And that's how it started; it was all down to Geoff."

Reflecting on his career, Roberts added: "Racing was my hobby so I've worked in my hobby all my life. I feel very privileged that I dealt with probably 80 per cent of the best jump jockeys who have ever ridden.

"People will always remember AP but there was Norman Williamson, Adrian Maguire, Mick Fitzgerald, Richard Johnson. I'm a mad Chelsea fan and it's a bit like doing training with all their top players."

Roberts has told all his current jockeys he is retiring and said: "I thought some might feel a bit let down but every single one of them was more than complimentary and couldn't thank me enough. That made life a lot easier to tell them. I've told them all I'll still be on the phone if they want advice."

As for the future, he said: "I've always wanted to see parts of the world – when jumping went 12 months of the year, that was the end of holidays. I'll do some travelling and maybe I'll just enjoy life more."

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