Now it can be told. Mick Kinane did not contemplate the future and conclude he should retire in the warm afterglow of his third Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe triumph last October. He had made up his mind in June, even while preparing in his cool, meticulous way to further the fabulous summer of Sea The Stars in the Coral-Eclipse Stakes.
It is Eclipse week again and Kinane was back at Sandown Park yesterday, talking more freely than he ever did within the consciously created capsule of his 34-year riding career. He is 51 now, carrying not a pound more than his last ride and not a trace of regret.
Rather, Kinane is amused that his secret was kept successfully for so long. “I knew long before the Arc that I was going to stop, even though I denied it. I wanted to keep it private, do it on my own terms. I’d always promised myself I would go out on a high if I could and I knew, between the Derby and the Eclipse, that this horse would give me that chance.
“It’s hard to check out of this sport — usually, it checks you out — but I’ve seen too many jockeys wait too long. I knew that the lack of a good horse would see my motivation decline very quickly and nothing has changed that thinking. I honestly don’t miss it.”
Not that he has cut himself off. Kinane is a racing ambassador now, and working on television in his native Ireland. “I’ve seen plenty of jockeys just close the door, cut themselves off, and I didn’t want to do that. It does feel strange when I go back in the weigh-room — it seems the lads still expect me to walk round to that peg by the door — but it’s nice to stay in touch.”
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There was a subtle change in Kinane through that last, extraordinary summer. It was as if he was mellowed by Sea The Stars as, between them, they won six group one races in six consecutive months. “As I knew I was coming to the end, I did feel more relaxed. I’d always shunned the limelight over the years. I’ve been a private person, happy to put on the poker mask for my riding.”
Though winning many of the world’s great races in his years with Dermot Weld and Aidan O’Brien, Kinane found empathy and contentment in his final retainer with John Oxx, trainer of Sea The Stars. “A lovely man — there was never a cross word,” he said. “Twice a week, I still ride work for him.”
Kinane recalls Oxx showing tension only once — on Eclipse day last year. “I don’t think he was ever as nervous as on that day. It was the first time the real pressure started to build. The public was seeing that this horse could be something special — they clapped him into the ring here, the only time in my career I’ve noticed that happening.
“I remember being a little worried myself, as we’d had him ready to run a week earlier, in the Irish Derby, but pulled him out through quick ground. To keep a horse simmering for a week is very difficult. There was pressure on me, too, but I couldn’t show it — even if my insides were turning over, I had to look calm.”
Sea The Stars dug deep to repel Rip Van Winkle in an epic Eclipse, so exciting that Christopher Tsui, the owner, fainted. His mother, who had bought the horse and still made key decisions, was back home in Hong Kong, where Kinane finally met her only weeks ago. “She told me she followed the same routine for every race — she’d have a shower, put on her bathrobe and watch TV, while the same people went to the races. Typical Chinese superstition, I suppose.”
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A race of similar majesty is too much to expect from the 13 horses that remain this year. For the moment, Sandown’s management must settle for unpatriotic relief that its premier Flat race will not clash with an England World Cup quarter-final. David Mackinnon, the managing director, said: “Our advance sales are down but we’re pushing it now as a chance to escape the World Cup blues.”