Knee injury forces Dwyer to call time on riding career

PA Sport Reporters
July 2, 2023 10:38 am

Classic-winning jockey has been sidelined since March 2022.

Derby-winning jockey Martin Dwyer has announced his retirement from the saddle having failed to recover from a serious knee injury.

Dwyer has been on the sidelines since March 2022 due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.

The Liverpudlian has undergone several surgeries on his knee but they have failed to offer enough improvement to enable him to return to the saddle.

Dwyer rode over 1,500 winners and partnered Sir Percy to Derby glory for Marcus Tregoning in 2006.

Sir Percy (far side) narrowly won the 2006 Derby for Dwyer (Rebecca Naden/PA)

“It’s tough saying it out loud, I’ve got my head around it, I’ve known for quite a while now I’ve been struggling with the injury,” Dwyer told Racing TV.

“I’ve thrown the kitchen sink at the rehab. I went to see the surgeon again when I had another operation two months ago and he said it’s not going to be stable enough or strong enough to ride professionally.

“It is what it is and I’ve just got to get on with it.

“It’s been tough, obviously. I’ve been in pain for a long time, it just throbs constantly but I’ve been in good hands and the team at Oaksey House have been brilliant.”

Looking ahead to the future, he said: “I’m getting back to some normality but I’ve just got to accept my career is over and I’ve just got to get on with things. It’s tough because I’m not finishing on my terms.

“I’d like to go out like Frankie (Dettori) and do a world tour, but I’d probably be at Wolverhampton and Southwell!

“It’s been a tough year or so, but it’s time to move on to the next chapter. It’s been a journey that has been unbelievable.”

As well as winning the Derby, Dwyer also won the Oaks in 2003 on Andrew Balding’s Casual Look and took the King Edward VII Stakes, Great Voltigeur and Coronation Cup on Pyledriver, trained by his father-in-law, William Muir.