Fitzgerald retires in one piece

After over 1,000 winners and a broken neck, the Irish jockey has called time on his career. Mick Fitzgerald admits he was lucky to retire in one piece after calling time on his near 20-year career. The rider, 38, suffered serious neck and knee ligament damage after a fall from L'Ami in the Grand National in April. He subsequently underwent two operations to realign three vertebrae and two discs. Fitzgerald had previously broken his neck in a fall at Market Rasen in 2005 and has now been advised not to return to race-riding.

"It is hard to swallow when you finally realise it is the end," he said. "I suppose in many ways I'm lucky really. I smashed four vertebrae in my neck from the C6 up to C3, they were fairly badly damaged and I was lucky first of all to go to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and have a couple of discs removed and have the whole thing stabilised, because two of them had penetrated my spinal cord and I was a very lucky boy really.

"There was light at the end of the tunnel, especially when they got me back stable. I didn't want to walk away not on my own terms. "Unfortunately in this situation I have got to listen to the experts." Fitzgerald had initially intended to bow out at the end of the 2006/2007 season to take up a job in the racing management. However, Fitzgerald shelved those plans following a highly successful campaign with long-time retained trainer Nicky Henderson and he admits the extra year has lessened the blow of his enforced departure from the weighing room.

"It is a lot easier for me now having announced last season was going to be my last, I feel like I have had another chance," he said. "I had a very good season and I like to think I was riding at top of my game when I did bow out. "I have got to go back and see what they say, but not there's not a lot of flexibility there now so another fall the consequences could be pretty catastrophic. It'd be OK if could guarantee I'd not fall off!"

Fitzgerald retires with well over 1,000 winners to his credit and is one of an elite band to win both the Grand National (on Rough Quest in 1996) and the Cheltenham Gold Cup (on See More Business in 1999). "I've been so lucky to be associated with a lot of good horses," he concluded. * PA Sport