Clare Lindop set to retire from race riding after the Adelaide Festival of Racing in May
SOUTH Australian jockey Clare Lindop has called an end to her illustrious 23-year riding career.
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STAR South Australian Clare Lindop jockey has called an end to her illustrious 23-year riding career.
Lindop will be remembered as the first Australian woman to ride in a Melbourne Cup, the first female winner of the Victoria Derby and one of the most accomplished female jockeys of all time.
Lindop, who moved from Warrnambool to forge her hugely successful career in Adelaide, began riding in 1995 and retires with four Group 1 victories, more than 50 black-type race wins, 22 country and metro cups and more than 1400 winners.
Lindop is looking forward to life after racing.
“I’m excited for my next chapter, whether I remain involved in the racing community, or pursue new challenges in business or parenthood,’’ Lindop said.
“I’m extremely passionate about racing, women in sport and I hope to become more actively involved with charity work,” she said.
A trailblazer for women in racing, Lindop won her maiden SA Metropolitan Riding Premiership in 2005, the first time a female jockey had won the coveted title.
Since becoming a senior jockey in 2000, she has also won two state riding titles and has finished in the top-5 on the Metropolitan Premiership table 13 times.
“I am extremely proud of my achievements and the fact that I am part of racing history,” Lindop added.
“Racing has treated me as an equal from the outset and it has only been recently that I have taken the time to reflect on my role as a groundbreaker for women in the sport, which is testament to an industry that rewards ability over gender or background,” she said.
Lindop, who claimed her first Group 1 win in the 2006 Adelaide Cup plans to continue riding before hanging up her saddle for the last time after the Adelaide Festival of Racing in May.
She will chase her second Adelaide Cup win when she rides Tunes in Monday’s Group 2 feature
TRSA Chair Frances Nelson praised Lindop’s impact on the racing industry.
“Clare is one of the finest jockeys to have graced Australian racetracks and we have been privileged to witness her ride for more than two decades. Her fierce competitive desire will be fondly remembered, as her achievements will long be celebrated in the annals of racing,” Nelson said.
“Clare’s contributions to racing have paved the way for increased female engagement in the industry at all levels.”
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