scooby3051 10,878 Report post Posted December 20, 2020 Senior jockey Matthew Cameron has called time on his riding career after completing his last raceday at Awapuni on Saturday. The thirty-four-year-old finished on a winning note by piloting the Ross McCarroll-trained Initiative to victory, but admits his desire to continue in the saddle has waned over the past few months. “I have been thinking about and contemplating my options for a while now,” Cameron said. “I spoke with my manager about a week ago and decided that Saturday would be my last day. “There’s no one reason for my decision but I’ve been doing this for over twenty years now and my motivation is not what it should be to do justice to my riding and for the people who support me. “I’m a firm believer that if I am questioning why I’m out there and not feeling it like I used to, then I’m letting the trainers, owners and horses down and that’s not what I want to do. “They deserve me to be one hundred percent in the game with the money they are racing for, so I felt it best to take a break.” After a relatively slow start to his apprenticeship with Taranaki trainer Allan Sharrock, Cameron soon took off under his mentor’s guidance to become the champion apprentice in 2005/2006 with sixty wins. Success as a senior jockey was also relatively hard to come by for the first few years after completing his apprenticeship, but a move to the Te Akau Racing set-up coincided with his career taking off as he gained access to better mounts on raceday and the wins began to flow freely. “When I started with Te Akau the doors really opened for me and I rode a lot of winners over the years I was there,” he said. “I was there for about four or five years and then moved on to an association with Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman which was also great for my career. “Riding for Te Akau and then for Murray and Andrew saw me tally over 100 wins a season for five years in a row, which really set my career up.” Cameron retires with 1408 New Zealand wins to his name, 94 Group or Listed victories and the title of champion jockey in the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons. He can look back fondly at some of the many highlights included in those statistics with one victory in particular standing out. “I’ve had a lot of tremendous moments in my career, but one I am very proud of was my win aboard Who Shot Thebarman in the 2014 Auckland Cup (Gr.1, 3200m),” he said. “I’d won the Avondale Cup (Gr.2, 2400m) on him a fortnight earlier and in between times had a bad fall where I sustained a serious knee injury. “I rode him in the Auckland Cup with my knee all strapped up and he won it like the great stayer he was. “To see him go on and do so well in Australia over so many years was just amazing and I still get a kick out of knowing I won a Group One on him.” Cameron doesn’t have any plans in place for the next step in his personal journey but is looking forward to the next few weeks where he can sleep in late and eat what he wants to without the pressure of trackwork and raceday riding dictating his actions. “I still love racing but I’m really looking forward to getting away from it to clear my mind and enjoy doing something else,” he said. “I don’t see myself watching too much of it because all I will do is get upset thinking I could have ridden this winner and that winner. “I think the thing I’m most excited about is not getting up to go to trackwork and being able to eat what I like, when I like on Christmas day without worrying about my weight for Ellerslie the next day. “I’ll pig out, not worry about alarms and catch up properly with family for the first time in 14-15 years. “I’d never say never to returning to riding but right now I’m not contemplating that at all.” Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurnyTom 1,535 Report post Posted December 20, 2020 Good luck Matthew. One of my favourite go to jocks after the Champ. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohokaman 5,831 Report post Posted December 20, 2020 Top rider, will be missed in the riding ranks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue 1,095 Report post Posted December 21, 2020 Amen to that. Good jockeys hard to find. Top Jocks even harder. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ Flash 2,135 Report post Posted December 21, 2020 A true professional to the end. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruff 2,793 Report post Posted December 21, 2020 He will be back Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demophon 29 Report post Posted December 21, 2020 Great ride to win on Initiative on Saturday. All the best. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasman man 742 Report post Posted December 21, 2020 50 minutes ago, Gruff said: He will be back I agree ........ unless he has a very good career to fall back on . Soon get bored doing very little , and once he crunches the numbers. The top jockeys .....a group he can belong to ........can earn very good money . Sure ,the danger , wasting and travel etc can be big negatives but the positives are rewarding. Gruff 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruff 2,793 Report post Posted December 21, 2020 Tassie you are in the top 2% in this industry, pull your finger out and make a difference many are relying on people like you with knowledge and passion Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruff 2,793 Report post Posted December 21, 2020 ...Matt is a very good jockey obviously and its hard for anybody to question the Courage these Champions show in this trade but Michael McNab outshown him on numerous occasions with a particular Group 1 Horse. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastwood Jaunty 148 Report post Posted December 21, 2020 His rides did seem noticeably to dry up this last year or so. Not sure if I am missing something but I couldn't understand why. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stodge 1,940 Report post Posted December 21, 2020 I can't say I know Matt Cameron though the comments on here suggests he is highly regarded. It's interesting - Ryan Moore rode in Hong Kong, two winners in the International races and six days later, he's back riding a Saturday winter flat card at Lingfield. Frankie Dettori - 50 last Tuesday - now mostly only rides on the big days. He doesn't do the bread-and-butter meetings but he'll be at the top meetings getting the top rides because he is still considered a top jockey. His strike rate is 24% - 38 winners from just 156 UK rides. Gruff 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ Flash 2,135 Report post Posted December 21, 2020 12 hours ago, Gruff said: He will be back The latest i read said he was on an "extended break" so not actually retired as yet Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastwood Jaunty 148 Report post Posted December 22, 2020 20 hours ago, JJ Flash said: The latest i read said he was on an "extended break" so not actually retired as yet That's all Matt ever said - the headline to this article took the word "out" out of "Cameron calls time OUT on ..." JJ Flash 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
a e cuneen 11 Report post Posted December 27, 2020 top kind rider under utilized by baker forsman and not given best rides by this stable good luck matty your my favorite and hopefully you will be back bigger and better Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ Flash 2,135 Report post Posted August 24, 2021 So the break/retirement is over and he is back in action today at Taupo scoobysnacks 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crustyngrizzly 1,700 Report post Posted August 24, 2021 40 minutes ago, JJ Flash said: So the break/retirement is over and he is back in action today at Taupo Pretty sure he had a couple of rides on the Synthetic track last or previous meeting at Camb. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneMcAlister 1,425 Report post Posted August 24, 2021 He annouced his return to riding a few weeks now (probably 10 rides https://horsebetting.com.au/cameron-keen-to-return-to-the-saddle/177193/ Ps, there is no horse racing on in NZ at present Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ Flash 2,135 Report post Posted August 25, 2021 2 hours ago, shaneMcAlister said: He annouced his return to riding a few weeks now (probably 10 rides https://horsebetting.com.au/cameron-keen-to-return-to-the-saddle/177193/ Ps, there is no horse racing on in NZ at present Yet the Taupo fields with riders is on Racenet!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Memphis3 1,262 Report post Posted August 25, 2021 It must be on then. I’ll head up there. JJ Flash 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archer 296 Report post Posted August 27, 2021 He sucked, a part of the group of non triers and definitely not the guy you wanted as an anchor in any trebles, quads .... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...