'Like everyone, my turn has arrived' - four-time Arc-winning jockey Olivier Peslier to retire aged 51 on Thursday

Olivier Peslier has announced he will retire from the saddle at La Teste on ThursdayCredit: Racing Post/Patrick McCann

Olivier Peslier, one of the great international riders of modern times, has announced his imminent retirement at the age of 51.

A winner of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on four occasions and also a four-time champion jockey in his native France, Peslier will take two mounts at La Teste in the south-west of France on Thursday. It will mark the end of a career which has featured a welter of international success including the Derby, the Japan Cup and at the Breeders' Cup.

Peslier told the Racing Post: "I have earned more than 3,700 victories around the world, 502 Group race wins of which 165 were Group 1s including those in Arabian races. Like everyone, my turn has arrived. I'm a tiny bit younger than [Frankie] Dettori and I'll be stopping just before him. It's been an extraordinary career and I would hope I can say it's been an exemplary one."

One of the most naturally gifted horsemen of his or any other generation, Peslier enjoyed huge success in tandem with Andre Fabre during the mid-1990s and early 2000s, while his 11 seasons as retained rider to Alain and Gerard Wertheimer coincided with the career of three-time Breeders' Cup Mile heroine Goldikova as well as the last of his four Arc winners, Solemia.

High-Rise and Olivier Peslier land the 1998 Derby at EpsomCredit: Edward Whitaker

Peslier credited his long-serving British agent Shippy Ellis with raising his profile internationally and can count victory aboard High-Rise for Luca Cumani in the 1998 Derby and the Geoff Huffer-trained Cockney Rebel in the 2,000 Guineas nine years later among his finest hours in Britain.

"I've had some wonderful moments in Britain, at Royal Ascot and winning the Derby," he said. "I also had a great deal of success in Japan and winning the Japan Cup was wonderful. My career has been marked by some great moments of joy."

Peslier added: "I've had the same sponsors, the same equipment providers and even the same agent through my entire career. Shippy was my first agent and he has stayed with me right to the end.

"He was responsible for me getting going on the international stage, while the GPA helmets that I started with have become a huge brand and have been with me all the way through.

"There are several trainers who have supported me all the way through while I've also worked with some very important owners and trainers down the years."

Peslier had a renaissance during Covid when he rode a number of important winners for overseas trainers – notably Group 1 successes with Laws Of Indices for Ken Condon and the Roger Varian-trained Teona – and even an Indian Summer during the 2022 season when Fabre recalled him.

Freddy Head and Olivier Peslier celebrate after Goldikova's win in the 2009 Breeders' Cup MileCredit: Edward Whitaker

Peslier has enjoyed extremely loyal associations, notably with Carlos Laffon-Parias and Freddy Head, who retired from training at the end of 2022, but his services have been less in demand over the last 12 months.

Looking towards the future, he added: "I'll be staying in and around the sport but I'll wait a while to see exactly how that plays out. I'll stay connected to racing, I'll remain involved in breeding and I will continue to ride out. I worked six horses this morning and that will remain my routine on Tuesdays. I love horses and I love riding so that won't stop."

Peslier's success across more than 30 years is matched only by his popularity around the racing globe – as one of the first international stars to make regular winter visits to Japan he earned the nickname 'the Blue Samurai' – and his fans can be assured he will still be seen on the racecourse.

"I'll continue to go racing on the big days, in England as well as in France," he said.

OLIVIER PESLIER

Full name Olivier Yves Guy Peslier

Born Cosse-le-Vivien, January 12, 1973

Apprenticed to Patrick Biancone, Nicolas Clement

First winner Cavallo D'Oro, Rouen, March 12, 1989

First Group winner Dream Talk (1992 Premio Melton)

First Group 1 winner Le Balafre (1993 Prix Jean Prat)

First winner in Britain Glory Of Dancer (1996 Dante Stakes)

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winners Helissio (1996), Peintre Celebre (1997), Sagamix (1998), Solemia (2012)

Breeders' Cup Mile winner Goldikova (2008, 2009, 2010)

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Harbinger (2010)

Derby winner High-Rise (1998)

Japan Cup winners Jungle Pocket (2001), Zenno Rob Roy (2004)

Prix du Jockey Club winners Peintre Celebre (1997), Intello (2013)

Grand Prix de Paris winners Peintre Celebre (1997), Limpid (1998)

Irish Derby winner Winged Love (1995)

Other British Classic winner Cockney Rebel (2007 2,000 Guineas)

Other Breeders' Cup winner Banks Hill (2001 Filly & Mare Turf)

Ascot Gold Cup winner Westerner (2005)

Prince of Wales's Stakes winners Ouija Board (2006), Vision D'Etat (2009)

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winners Air Express (1997), Desert Prince (1998), Charm Spirit (2014)

Overall world champions (official ratings) Peintre Celebre (1997), Harbinger (2010)

Highest-rated mounts (RPRs) 137 Peintre Celebre, 135 Harbinger, 134 Helissio, 132 Cirrus Des Aigles, 131 Desert Prince, 131 Goldikova, 129 High-Rise, Keltos, Symboli Kris S, Westerner

Most prolific Pattern winner Goldikova – 15, including 14 Group/Grade1s (4 Prix Rothschilds, 3 Breeders' Cup Miles)

Pattern winner for Queen Elizabeth II Dartmouth (2016 Hardwicke Stakes)

Richest prize £1,935,484 (2012 Dubai Sheema Classic, won by Cirrus Des Aigles)

Champion jockey in France Four times: 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000

Most wins in a French season 163 (1996)

Total wins More than 3,700

Compiled by John Randall

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