‘Not A Spur Of The Moment Decision’: Sam Clipperton On His Shock Retirement
Everest-winning jockey Sam Clipperton stunned the racing world when he announced his retirement via social media but says he is ready for a life outside of the sport.
A QUIET RURAL LIFESTYLE alongside his most famous winner awaits Sam Clipperton following his shock decision to hang up the saddle, effective immediately and announced on social media on Monday night.
Clipperton walked out of Rosehill Racecourse on December 7 knowing that his one ride that day aboard Les Bridge-trained Scorching Legend would be the last time he would ride in a race.
“A few of the boys knew and some within my circle did too but I kept it pretty close,” Clipperton told Idol Horse. “I was getting more and more questions though – the first week away, it was fine but I thought it was the right thing to do, to put it out there and make it public on my terms.
“It’s meant a lot though, I’ve received a lot of messages from so many people that I’ve ridden with over the years and from all over the world. It’s really very special.”
It has been a topsy-turvy 14 months professionally for Clipperton since he capped his career with victory in the world’s richest race on turf, the $20 million The Everest (1200m) at Randwick on Think About It.
The 30-year-old lost the ride on the Joe Pride-trained sprinter after he was made the scapegoat for the horse’s disappointing autumn campaign. He also found his fortunes fluctuating in the competitive Sydney jockeys’ room.
In 2024, he had 25 wins from 270 rides, down from 40 wins from 361 rides in 2023. Notably, his percentage of metropolitan rides decreased from 73 per cent in 2023 to 50 per cent in 2024 as he focused more on life outside of the hustle and bustle of Sydney, relocating to his family’s farm in the Hunter Valley.
“Retirement was something I’d been weighing up over the course of the year, so it wasn’t a spur of the moment decision,” he said. “It’s definitely mixed emotions, when something is such a big part of your life it’s only natural to feel that attachment and there are definitely aspects of it I’ll miss plenty. There are other aspects, though, that I definitely won’t miss at all.”
Clipperton started riding at age 16 and was twice champion apprentice under the tutelage of Ron Quinton, and the jockey admitted that the grind of Australian racing had taken its toll.
“It does take a lot out of you physically and mentally and if you aren’t on your A-game, it’s not the job for you,” he said. “When I moved up here, I was planning on juggling riding with life on the farm but I quickly started to realise it got in the way and so it made the decision a lot easier.”
So what next for Clipperton?
The well-spoken rider could easily follow many other ex-jockeys into a media career and he is sure to be in demand around big carnivals for his erudite and unparalleled insight, but for now he is keen to forge a path away from racing.
“I’m only 30, I’ve got a good few decades to be able to build a new career for myself and follow my passions,” Clipperton said. “I could put it off until I was well and truly done with racing, but say that was another 10 years from now – that’s 10 years that I could have spent establishing myself otherwise.
“I’d love to become a rural real estate agent or something in the agricultural industry, that’s something I’m quite passionate about, but for the first time since I began riding I’ve got the opportunity to try different things and see what happens.”
Clipperton rode 672 winners from 6802 rides, including 62 from 949 in Hong Kong. In addition to his Everest win, he won five Group 1 races – two on Think About It (the Kingsford Smith Cup and the Stradbroke Handicap) and one each on Mazu (Doomben 10,000), English (All Aged Stakes) and Peeping (Coolmore Classic).
Among other horses Clipperton rode throughout his 15-year career were Hot King Prawn, Werther, It’s Somewhat, Complacent and Exosphere.
Clipperton may be stepping away from the sport, but joining him at his family’s farm will be his beloved Think About It, who he guided from a lowly midweek restricted race to scale racing’s greatest heights.
“He is currently at Paringa Stud at Gresford, Reggie Blundell is looking after him and it’s also where another of Joe’s great sprinters Terravista is based too,” Clipperton said. “He’s doing great in retirement and we might see him chasing a few cows around soon!” ∎
