Irish point to point legend Jamie Codd revealed he has one eye on retirement, despite looking ahead to the upcoming season.
Codd, a two-time leading rider in Irish point to point, is one of the jockeys who has successfully managed a cross over from the amateur ranks to compete with the professionals in England. The 38-year-old is nearing the end of his career as a jockey now and has been working as an agent for Tattersalls alongside his other duties. He readily confesses that injuries will eventually take their toll as he looks to transition to the next phase of his career.
“Injuries are the thing that will really stop you,” he is reported as saying by Buzz Sport. “There will come a day when you’ll just go, ‘I’m not going to come back from this or that’. There is a lot of people when they stop riding, you can get lost for a while, wondering what to do and that. Thankfully, this has made it easier. Tattersalls will be there for me when I do retire.”
When Codd finally puts down the whip and demounts for the final time, he can look back on an illustrious career which has seen him not only excel at home but also ride several winners at the prestigious Cheltenham Festival. The first of those wins came in March 2009, when he rode the unfancied Character Building to victory at 16-1 in the Kim Muir.
On the back of that win, Codd started getting better rides and more success followed at Cheltenham. He found wins on Junior in 2011, The Package in 2015, Fayonagh in 2017, and a double in 2019 on Le Breuil and Envoi Allen. The 2019 Champion Bumper win on Envoi Allen saw Codd break down, securing his first Cheltenham victory since the tragic loss of his brother William.
Whilst 2019 was perhaps the most emotional win for Codd, the most famous rides came with a hattrick of wins on Cause Of Causes in successive years between 2015 and 2017. His most recent win came earlier this year, taking the National Hunt Challenge Cup on 12-1 shot Ravenhill.
Codd’s ability to mix it with the professionals at Cheltenham has added a valuable revenue stream to his earnings. The Irish point to point boasts much lower prize monies than the major English events, and even Cheltenham does not compare with some of the biggest dates on the world calendar. A list of the richest horse racing events by Bwin demonstrates the disparity between amateur and professional, even between some of the biggest events in England and those in the wider world. Prestigious races, such as the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the Saudi Cup, have huge prize purses of €4.71 million and €16.8 million, respectively. In contrast, Horse Racing Ireland features €66 million for prize money, no small amount, but that is spread across the entire point-to-point season, which consists of around 180 races.
For now, crossover jockey Codd will still be hunting a share of those prizes, but how much longer the point to point and Cheltenham veteran can remain at the top of his game depends very much on his physical condition. He will most likely be at Cheltenham 2021, scheduled for 16th to 19th of March, looking to add to his long list of victories there.
Even if injuries do eventually signal and end to his successful career, Codd will still be a name that reverberates around the Irish point to point scene for many years to come.
