Tommy Treacy retires at Leopardstown

Danoli's jockey Tommy Treacy retired from race-riding following his ride on third placed Vigil in the Thorntons Recycling Maiden Hurdle at Leopardstown today, in a race won by the Willie Mullins trained A Toi Phil

Treacy was riding for the final time today and while legged-up on the Dermot Weld trained 9/10 favourite Vigil, the pair failed to peg back Mullins' A Toi Phil, which stayed on strongly in the closing stages under jockey Patrick Mullins.

Regarding A Toi Phil, which carries the Gigginstown House Stud colours, winning jockey Patrick Mullins stated “that's made my Christmas!

“Paul Townend was originally booked for the horse but Michael O'Leary kindly asked if I would like to ride him again after what happened at Clonmel (ran out at the start when a short-priced favourite four days ago) and I'm very grateful to him.

"This horse has a lot of ability but is very quirky. He loved the ground and will go further."

Retiring Treacy partnered his first winner on Mitah in a Clonmel flat maiden in June 1992 and in total partnered 467 winners in a career which yielded Grade 1 wins with Love The Lord (Power Gold Cup), Danoli (Denny Gold Medal Chase and Hennessy Gold Cup), Delphi Lodge (Power Gold Cup) and Native Upmanship (Stanley Cooper Champion Novice Hurdle).

Treacy was given a guard of honour and applauded back in by his weighroom colleagues today at a venue where his famous win on Danoli in the 1997 Hennessy Gold Cup remains an iconic moment in Irish racing.

By Tom Weekes, quotes from Alan Magee