Fran Berry pays tribute to John Oxx after trainer announces retirement

When he got the raw material he got the maximum out of the horses and was surrounded by very good staff throughout his career. He and his wife Caitriona were brilliant with their employees, helping youngsters who may have had struggles in their education to learn the basics of reading and writing.

They were rewarded with great loyalty from the team, many of whom were long-serving.

And just look at the horses John had through his hands over the years. Sea The Stars, the last of his juggernauts, is the best remembered, and rightly so, but there were so many others.

First out the blocks was Ridgewood Pearl who was ridden by Christy Roche when winning the Irish 1000 Guineas in 1995. She went on to demolish her rivals in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot and while undone by Willie Carson taking his famous route under the trees back at the Berkshire track on Bahri in the QEII, flew out to Belmont Park to win at the Breeders’ Cup.

Enzeli won the Ascot Gold Cup in 1999 to help launch Johnny Murtagh on the international stage and he teamed up with Oxx and the Aga Khan to win a Derby and Arc on Sinndar a year later.

Alamshar went from winning a Listowel maiden to landing an Irish Derby and the King George at Ascot. Azamour won that race as well as the St James’s Palace Stakes, Irish Champion and Prince Of Wales’s during a glittering career.

The list goes on and on. Oxx always had a plan, a route for his star horses, and they kept improving and progressing throughout their campaigns.

He played a huge role in my career too. I started to pick up rides primarily because of the strength in depth he had, particularly among the fillies, around the Millennium.

I was mainly riding the third strings but was delighted to do so, they tended to be beautifully bred and talented horses belonging to Sheikh Mohammed or the Aga Khan.

In 2001 I won the Blandford Stakes on Dearly and was promoted to number two to Johnny the following year. It proved to be the springboard for the success I went on to enjoy.

John had a great system in place for work mornings and was brilliant to ride for. In many ways race riding for him was more relaxed than the gallops where he tended to have more instructions. He knew what he wanted doing on a morning.

But once he got to know you the trust was there. There wasn’t much talking in the parade ring before a race, any of that had been done beforehand. You knew where you were at with him and win, lose or draw, he was going to be there right behind you.

It’s a big thing when you go out to ride for someone knowing that you can’t lose whatever you do. You see it in Colin Keane and Ger Lyons right now. They have complete confidence in each other.

Look at how John brought Johnny Murtagh back to the top of the tree and the success Mick Kinane had for the yard, Sea The Stars and all, after leaving the Ballydoyle job.

Riding for the Oxx team was a huge privilege and it’s a shame that he’s decided to call it a day. The strength in depth and sheer numbers just aren’t there now and he’s struggled since the Aga Khan stopped sending him yearlings in 2013.

It’s very hard for any trainer to lose an owner of that size and it’s admirable how he kept going and tried to turn things around.

However, in Ireland, unless you have powerful overseas clients in your yard it’s hard to compete so ultimately it’s not a surprise to see him decide enough is enough.

It will be a very sad day when he saddles his final runner. When I was growing up he was a legend of the game, and I was so honoured to ride 166 winners for him. Throughout my career I was impressed with how he conducted himself and while it’s sad to finish this way, I wish John, Caitriona and their family all the best for the future.