Hugely popular Grand National-winning trainer Oliver Sherwood, 68, has announced his retirement this summer.
Sherwood, who has sent out over 1300 winners from his Lambourn yard across a career spanning almost four years, was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2021 and cited his recent battle with ill-health, along with the death of close friend Richard Aston and dwindling numbers, among the reasons behind his decision to stop training this year.
A former champion amateur rider, Sherwood began training in 1984 with the 2015 Grand National winner Many Clouds providing one of the many highlights of his near 40-year career.
Speaking on the Nick Luck Daily Podcast, Sherwood also confirmed that he'd be working as assistant to fledgling trainer Harry Derham in the next chapter of his life.
He said: "I'm going to hand my licence in probably around July time and I'm going to go and help Harry Derham, who has obviously just finished his first very successful season, as assistant there and hopefully taking most of the horses that I've got here over to him.
"It's a combination of a whole heap of things, dwindling numbers is the main thing but obviously health things from 18 months ago and losing a very dear friend of mine, Richard Aston of Goldford Stud, who got diagnosed literally in February and died three months later - that hit me for six."
Sherwood added: "So it's a very tough decision but in a few months' time I'm sure it'll be the right decision.
"Horses have been my life so I've got to stay with horses, the only difference is that it's not going to be 'O Sherwood - trainer' but I'm going to a very young and hungry person, we know the family very well and I'm really looking forward to the next chapter in one's life.
"The one thing I did want to say was that having the illness and with Richard passing, and the dwindling numbers, that this time next year I'll be saying I'm 70 next year - I'm 68 and a bit now - and I don't want to get to 80 and suddenly your life's gone by and all I've done is train racehorses.
"As much as I've loved every single minute of it, you've got to realise that life goes by very quickly and our son lives out in New Zealand and I want to go out to see him, and there are others things I want to do before it's too late to do it."
Sherwood looks back on his career at the helm fondly, from early Cheltenham Festival success with the likes of Rebel Song, to Many Clouds' memorable day on Merseyside eight years ago.
He said: "Many Clouds obviously stands out, it's everybody's dream to win a Grand National. But I was very lucky, when I started training in 1984 it was boom-time, you didn't really have to sell yourself. People came to me, rang up wanting a horse, and I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to meet Christopher and Maggie Heath who I had a double with at the Festival with The West Awake and Rebel Song.
"Success breeds success, everybody knows that with the horses, and funnily enough when Harry (Derham) first turned up here he saw a picture on the wall of Cenkos and Harry is a nephew of Paul Nicholls' but he had no idea I had Cenkos here before he moved to Paul. So I've had loads of nice horses through the yard over the years.
"And I must say I've had a lot of very, very good assistants through my yard too, the likes of Donald McCain was here a couple of years, Ben Case, the likes of Tony Martin was with me with a few years. John Durkan was probably my greatest assistants, God bless him, he found Istabraq for JP (McManus). So I take that as a huge complement that they might have learnt something from me anyway.
"Even though I look back on my career as a lot of success, as one door closes another door opens. You have to look forward in life and not backwards."
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