Gerald Mosse calls time on glittering riding career

Veteran French jockey Gerald Mosse has announced he will bring his 41-year stint in the saddle to an end this weekend, before commencing his career as a trainer later in the year.

The Marseille native has won more than 90 Group One races around the world, including multiple victories in the French Derby, the French Oaks, the French 2000 Guineas and the French 1000 Guineas.

He landed the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in 1990 aboard Saumarez.

Mosse has also enjoyed huge success on the international stage, having plied his trade in Hong Kong, Bahrain, Dubai and Singapore, as well as in the UK, where his big-race wins include two triumphs in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot on Gold Splash (1993) and Immortal Verse (2011).

He also steered Nuclear Debate to win the Nunthorpe, the King’s Stand and the Haydock Sprint Cup across 2000 and 2001, while a 2010 Melbourne Cup triumph on Americain was another global highlight.

After hanging up his famous white gloves with final rides at ParisLongchamp on Saturday and Chantilly on Sunday, Mosse will become a public trainer in Chantilly from September 1, having first obtained his trainer’s licence in 2022 before purchasing a 40-box yard.

In a statement issued on X, formerly Twitter, Mosse said: “My family, and in particular my father Armand, gave me a real leg up when I was very young. Thanks to them, I took the road to success.

“In the course of my long career, I have had the privilege of becoming an international jockey, wearing countless silks and riding champions on the world’s finest racecourses.

“Above all, I have been lucky enough to meet and rub shoulders with some wonderful people, without whom I wouldn’t have been able to fulfil my childhood dreams.

“I would like to extend my warmest thanks to my racing family: owners, trainers, breeders, agents, managers, riders, stable lads, travelling lads, starters, valets, transporters, stewards, racecourse staff, racegoers and so on.

“I owe them everything. I would also like to thank my former jockey colleagues who have shown me a great deal of respect.

“I’m now approaching the second act of my career with enthusiasm and determination. I can’t wait to welcome my first owners and their horses at the Manoir des Sangliers.”