Opie Bosson has Retired from Race Riding.

[Chief Stipe]

Update from Te Akau Stud   Update on Te Akau Stable Rider Opie Bosson ONZM  

We write to you today with mixed emotions to share significant news: one of New Zealand's most iconic jockeys, Te Akau stable rider Opie Bosson ONZM, has made the decision to retire from professional riding, effective immediately. His final riding engagement came yesterday aboard Te Akau runner El Viento at Ellerslie, marking the end of a truly remarkable career, and special relationship with our stable.

For everyone at Te Akau Racing, this is undoubtedly a poignant moment. While we are saddened by Opie’s departure from the saddle, we respect and support the reasons behind his decision. His extraordinary career, spanning over three decades, has left an indelible mark on the racing landscape.

Opie’s innate talent, razor-sharp instinct, and unparalleled accomplishments have enriched the industry across Australasia, and beyond. His legacy as one of the greatest jockeys New Zealand has ever produced is undeniable, not just through his record-breaking successes but also through his incredible horsemanship and dedication to his craft.

Our association with Opie began when he was just 14 years old, and over the years, we have shared countless unforgettable moments, celebrated incredible victories, and forged a special partnership and, importantly, friendship.

As Opie moves into the next chapter of his professional life, we know you will join us in expressing our gratitude for his immense contribution to Te Akau Racing and the wider industry. His retirement marks the end of an era, but his many riding accomplishments are written into the rich fabric of racing history for all time.  

We wish Opie happiness and success in his future endeavours. 





Please find below the official announcement released today:

Opie Bosson, one of the greatest jockeys New Zealand has produced, has today announced his retirement from riding.

Bosson, 44, leaves behind an incredible legacy in the sport, winning 99 Group One races in a glittering career which saw him inducted into the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame in 2023. In that same year, he was recognised in the King's Birthday and Coronation Honours as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to thoroughbred racing.

He was also immortalised in the memorable "There's only one Opie Bosson" Boys Get Paid chant at the annual Karaka Millions meeting at Ellerslie. 

Among Bosson's biggest wins were the Gr.1 Australian Derby and Caulfield Cup aboard Mongolian Khan in 2015 and nine Group One wins on champion mare Imperatriz.

"My association with Imperatriz was the highlight of my career. Horses like that don't come along every day and to be involved in her big wins in Melbourne is something I'll never forget," Bosson said.

"Once she retired, it became a lot harder for me to keep going. She probably kept me going really. It's just the right time to hang up my boots now. I feel I've given all I had to give."

Bosson was first apprenticed to his godfather Stephen Autridge, having joined Te Akau as a 14-year-old and enjoyed a long and successful association with the David Ellis-led stable."I've done 30 years and it's time for me to start working for a future after racing, something I can be happy in," Bosson said.

"I've had some great times in racing, enjoyed a lot of success and made plenty of lifelong friends. I just want to thank all the owners and trainers who have supported me and for all the comradery from the jockeys I've ridden with and all the support I've got from the racing public all over New Zealand."

Bosson brought up his 2000th New Zealand win aboard Move To Strike at Te Rapa in December 2023 and finishes with a career tally of 2146 wins, 2059 of those coming in New Zealand. He won 51 races in Australia, 16 of those at Group One level, as well as 31 in Singapore, including two Singapore Group One races that didn't count towards his international Group One tally: the 2007 Singapore Cup on Recast and the 2010 Singapore Derby on Dream Ahead.

Bosson also rode in Japan, United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong, where he was successful on five occasions.

Among those to pay tribute to Bosson was his long-time mentor and friend David Ellis CNZM.

"Opie established himself as world-class, especially the way he rode Imperatriz. He's been a massive part of our stable," Ellis said.

"He's had to battle weight problems throughout his career and for him to keep going as long as he did and with the success is a real credit to him. He's been a great friend and we'll never forget the success we've had together.

"You think about the Karaka Millions' winners we've had, Melody Belle, Avantage, Cool Aza Beel, Probabeel and Dynastic, and before them King's Chapel right through to all the Guineas' winners we've had together, a Derby Gingernuts, simply too many mention them all.

"He's been prolific, winning more than 50 Group One races for us. He's been a tremendously successful rider and is a great judge of a horse, with phenomenal balance and that instinct you cannot learn, but are born with," Ellis concluded.
 

[Murray Fish]

A  genuine HOF rider! 🎖️

All the best for what happens next.

[Huey]

99 caught behind... ouch!

[Chief Stipe]

'I had nothing left': Kiwi jockey great Opie Bosson retires from racing

www.nzherald.co.nz

“I was out there running in my sweat gear and ran past other people enjoying their Christmas Day and I thought ‘what am I doing?’,” said the 44-year-old.

 

“I know I have thought about retiring before but this is it. There is definitely no coming back.

 

“I have been thinking about it for a while, to be honest since [champion racehorse] Imperatriz retired in April.

 

“I know I won’t get to the heights she took me to again and I just wondered more and more why I was doing it.”

 

Bosson has often struggled with his weight, which needs to get as low as 54kg to ride all the leading chances he would like to maximise his career potential and earning power.

 

He isn’t the only jockey fighting, often losing, that battle but for much of 2024 that discipline has become dread.

 

“The wasting [losing weight] has never really been easy but when your heart is in it and you are loving the racing then you can do it.

 

“But when your heart isn’t in it the wasting becomes too hard. You don’t want to and in the end you can’t do it anymore.

 

“That is how I felt on Christmas Day and I knew it wasn’t coming back.”

 

Bosson rode at Ellerslie on Thursday, finishing fourth in the Group 1 Zabeel Classic on Ladies Man, who at its previous start had given Bosson his 99th career Group 1 win, racing’s elite level.

 

The next question is obvious: why wouldn’t Bosson keep going to get to the magical 100, which he has stated was his great goal?

 

“I don’t want to be out there, especially in Group 1s, going around when I shouldn’t be,” he said.

 

“The horses and their owners deserve better than that and that is how people make mistakes, riding after wasting too hard or when their mind isn’t right.

 

“I don’t want to retire on a low or after an accident.”

 

As Bosson talks it is not with the desperation or dehydration of past, short-lived retirements. His voice is laced with relief and resignation.

 

He is already talking about tomorrows. Staying in racing, not on horseback but close to the animals that have provided the peaks of his personal rollercoaster.

 

“I will take some time to work it all out. I am still coming to terms with it.”

 

His loss to New Zealand racing will be immense.

 

 

Bosson is one of the few New Zealand sportspeople, especially those living here, to have frenzied crowds chant his name. “There is only one Opie Bosson” was the chorus when he dominated Karaka Millions meetings.

 

He made decisions that won people millions of dollars without thinking, and was gifted with instinct and affinity with horses.

 

Even New Zealand’s greatest modern day jockey and world champion James McDonald talks of being “schooled” by Bosson and puts him on the list of the best he has ridden against anywhere in the world.

 

As for Bosson’s best rides, his love for Imperatriz is obvious and he is proud of winning the Caulfield Cup on Mongolian Khan.

 

The list of thank yous is long: Te Akau boss David Ellis, trainers such as Mark Walker, Murray Baker, Allan Sharrock, even young Sam Bergerson, their training partners and all their staff.

 

“The owners who have put me on their horses, I have to thank them and all the horses I have been lucky to ride.”

 

Bosson brought up his 2000th New Zealand win aboard Move To Strike at Te Rapa in December 2023 and finishes with a career tally of 2146 wins, 2059 of those coming in New Zealand, said manager Aidan Rodley.

 

Bosson won 51 races in Australia, 16 of those at Group 1 level, as well as 31 in Singapore, including two Singapore Group 1 races that didn’t count towards his international Group 1 tally.

 

“It has been amazing. Hard at times but I have been doing this for 30 years. That is long enough.

 

“I don’t know how I know it’s time to finish but it is. I can feel it inside.”

 

In the end, the numbers won’t really matter.

 

Whether Bosson rode 99 Group 1s or 101, he did something only the greats in any sporting arena can achieve.

 

He was, on his best days, able to influence and even control outcomes simply by being in the contest.

 

Because he was so good his opposition would be mesmerised and while they watched, he won.

 

But now the price of winning, the price of riding, is more than Bosson’s body, and mind, are willing to pay.

[Wingman]

23 minutes ago, Huey said:

99 caught behind... ouch!

101. Saying two G1 from Singapore doesn't count is rubbish. They were probably better than some of the G1 handicaps we had going around not that long ago.  

[SLB2.0]

Can someone please tell me why the weight scale is usually 50-60kg.

Would raising the weights to 56kg-66kg change much? Apart from times? Surely jockey safety trumps that?

[Special Agent]

3 minutes ago, SLB2.0 said:

Can someone please tell me why the weight scale is usually 50-60kg.

Would raising the weights to 56kg-66kg change much? Apart from times? Surely jockey safety trumps that?

And what about the horse?

[SLB2.0]

They carry 70kg over 6400m....

I don't think an extra 10kg would hinder or hurt an extremely large and powerful animal, but perhaps there has been testing done.