HOW many sportspeople can say they truly had the fairytale end to their career?

French footballing legend Zinedine Zidane was famously red-carded on his final professional appearance when losing the 2006 World Cup Final on penalties, Sir Alex Ferguson couldn’t secure a win in his last game over Manchester United and even Usain Bolt’s last World Championships in 2017 saw him exit without a finals win. He actually pulled up in his farewell 4×100m relay decider.

You can look to sporting greats like Tom Brady and Michael Jordan stateside, who couldn’t bow out on winning terms, while in racing, there was no winner for A.P. McCoy on the last day of his career at Sandown after a heartfelt farewell tour. The sporting gods don’t leave much room for sentiment at the top level.

That is what made Daryl Jacob’s departure from what was already an immensely successful life in the saddle all the sweeter last season.

After pushing ridiculously hard to defy his doctor’s orders and turn a three-month injury into a five-week return, the 2012 Grand National-winning rider passed the post in front aboard Impaire Et Passe in Limerick’s Grade 1 Faugheen Novice Chase and immediately knew it was time to sign off.

There would be a Leopardstown farewell with a guard of honour from his colleagues the following afternoon, but the Enniscorthy, Co Wexford jockey was effectively bowing out on his own terms, winning at the highest level of the sport. Crucially, he was also doing so in the Simon Munir and Isaac Souede ‘Double Green’ colours that have been so pivotal to his life in racing.

Jacob, by his own admission, isn’t one who spends long dwelling on past glories or regrets, but cuts the figure of one completely content with his decision to depart the riding ranks he’d known for the entirety of his adult life. A little more than 12 months have passed and he is still a man in demand, through his racing advisory role with Munir and Souede, punditry with Racing TV and other work involving The Jockey Club and the sports hospitality sector.

“That chapter of my life has closed. I’ve turned over the page and I’m loving this new chapter,” says Jacob. “I won’t say that I was planning my career after riding, but I knew the time was coming and I tried different things in the latter stages to see what I liked doing, and what I didn’t. I’m enjoying filtering into those spaces now.

“The minute I rode Impaire Et Passe to win the Grade 1 at Limerick, I knew that was it for me. It was the right time after a great day. Unfortunately that Christmas, It’s For Me, a lovely horse belonging to Simon and Isaac, was fatally injured at Leopardstown and, honestly, that really hurt me. I had ridden him a lot and knew him well. When I went out to ride in a couple of Grade 1s later that day and didn’t enjoy it at all, I knew that was a sign at that point. I was riding with such an emotional connection to Simon and Isaac, and Anthony [Bromley, racing manager].

Perfect timing

“I knew leaving Leopardstown that day it was probably time. I didn’t say it to anyone - not even my wife until the next morning - but I told myself that if Impaire Et Passe won the next day, it might be the best way to step away. I promise you, and you can see it in my reaction on the replay, I knew it felt right the very second I crossed the line. I wanted to retire at the top, while I was still enjoying it and while I was still wanted. I’m naturally a positive person, but I didn’t want to stay going longer than I should and wind up being chippy or sour. That’s not who I am.”

Some elite riders tend to operate with a steely or cold exterior, but Jacob has always been expressive with his emotions on horseback, and vocal in his admiration for the horses he’s associated with. The extreme efforts he made in order to return from injury made his Limerick finale even more intensely felt, however.

“I did my collarbone and shoulder really badly while schooling for Henry [de Bromhead] the day after I rode my 1,000th winner [in November that year]. I have to say, it was a very nasty one,” he explains.

“The specialist told me it was going to take three months, but I just said to him that I had to be back in five weeks. ‘You just make that bulletproof and I’ll worry about the rehab.’ The blood, the sweat and the tears put into those weeks took their toll.

“It was a period full of rehab, and pain. You literally just go through pain, pain, pain every day of the week to make it happen, and that has to leave a mark. Finishing up as I did, though - in those colours - was the perfect send-off.”

It is those recognisable silks that are at the centre of Jacob’s thoughts daily in his latest chapter. Through a racing managerial role with Munir and Souede, Jacob is covering plenty of ground with an exciting team of young horses.

“I’m working with Anthony Bromley and helping him as best I can,” Jacob explains. “Anthony is obviously a very busy man with all the various sales and he doesn’t get the chance to go racing as much; I suppose that’s where I come in.

“I help with the horses, I sit on the Jet Bloodstock horses, which Simon and Isaac have invested in, I go to Ireland and see the point-to-points, as well as factoring in a bit of time in France with the horses there too. It’s a big role, a busy role, but the Double Green is in my heart.

Family feeling

“I rode for those colours for 12 years, and that’s a long time in racing to have an association together - they are my passion. Working with Simon, Isaac and Anthony, they’re like my family.”

He adds: “After Simon and Issac, Racing TV is my big passion and I’d love to do it five days a week if I could. Everyone in there has taken me under their wing, I’m being educated and learning every day. Obviously I know I’ve got to get better at it - I’ve only been doing it for six or seven months - but it’s a real love I have for that role.”

The 31-time Grade 1-winning jockey rode for any number of major operations in his more than two decades in the saddle. What has been different about his association with Munir and Souede?

“I’ve worked with many good people down the years, but it’s their loyalty and honesty. For me, riding horses has always been about trust, and they’ve trusted me from day one. They believed I would do best by their horses and those things work hand in hand. When you have someone who shows trust, loyalty and honesty, you will always deliver for them.

“I’ve been so lucky in racing. The only disappointment I might have had in my career was my 10 months with Paul Nicholls, when he maybe didn’t trust my judgement and didn’t have the firepower. Perhaps he didn’t have the trust of the owners at that time, coming in after Ruby Walsh’s time there - I have no idea and it’s all in the past - but the best relationships are based on trust and loyalty. I’ve always been keen to repay the faith shown in me by whoever I work with.”

The Double Green’s system has clearly been operating at an extremely high level, with 16 Grade 1 wins across the last four years alone. They have not achieved those results by simply following the same pathway as similarly prominent owners, however.

Open approach

After some success trading flat horses in recent seasons, the aforementioned Jet Bloodstock wing of the operation has involved sourcing young, unraced National Hunt stock with the intention of them being commercial horses to sell from the Irish point-to-points scene. Several carrying the primary Munir and Souede silks have been open to trading too lately, with highly exciting Auteuil Grade 3 winner Matin Midi Et Soir (owned in conjunction with Haras De Saint-Voir) selling privately to Henry de Bromhead and Robcour last year. Further lots were sold at the Arqana Autumn Sale in November, while Bromley recently spoke of listening to enquiries from other leading owners for their top-class prospect Talk The Talk, who is third favourite for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at 8/1.

It’s not hard to see why, after a luckless final-flight exit when set to collect in Grade 1 company at Leopardstown over Christmas

“They think outside the box,” Jacob says of their open-minded approach to jumps racing. “A lot of owners come into this game and it’s the same old same old, but with Simon, Isaac and Anthony, we’re always trying to think of new approaches and trying to be creative. They created the Double Green matrix, which seems to work really well.

“Talk The Talk is an example of their outlook on the sport. When he came down at the last at Leopardstown, we were obviously disappointed to miss out on a Grade 1, but the overriding feeling was excitement that we have a really promising horse on our hands. They always look forward to the future.”

Much has been spoken about the balance of power between Britain and Ireland in National Hunt racing over the last decade, and, given his position of being based in Britain while still having close links to Ireland, Jacob is better placed than most to have an impression of what is contributing to the current dynamic between the countries. Are there factors he sees as being particularly influential in Ireland’s success at the top table?

“Certainly a lot of the dominant owners are in Ireland right now, and they can pay good money for horses,” he says.

“I do feel that the point-to-points are key to it, though. You’ve got top operators in that space in Ireland, and they regularly deal with Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott, Henry de Bromhead and so on. There are brilliant scouts around that get to see these horses running in point-to-points and following their progress closely.

“I’m not saying for one second that it’s always the case these horses can’t be bought by British trainers, but it seems at times like the Irish trainers might be getting first dibs on the best point-to-pointers. The second wave may then come to Britain, and the Irish trainers just seem to be at an advantage by seeing them earlier. The owner power in Ireland is there to support them too.”

He adds: “There are some new owners getting involved in Britain, though. You can see the growth of the likes of Dan Skelton, Harry Derham, Olly Murphy and others. With luck, their owners will be loyal to them.

“We all hope there can be healthy competition between Britain and Ireland, because that will make the market very strong. When British and Irish trainers and owners are bidding against each other, it has to make the market for sellers a healthy one.”

Elite company

Jacob’s natural inclination might be to consistently look towards the future, but has he taken an opportunity in the last 12 months to process the magnitude of what he achieved over the previous two and a half decades? It is a career that would be the envy of the vast majority of men and women who have ever put on a pair of boots.

“I know that I overachieved,” he says modestly but matter-of-factly.

“I do know that I put my heart and soul into what I did, and I worked very hard to overachieve. I never wanted to be a jockey, was probably never a natural jockey… Maybe you might say I was a horseman, but my father was a deep-sea fisherman and none of my family knew anything about horses.

“Honestly, I sometimes wonder how I ended up getting a ride, let alone how I succeeded, when you think I had to line up against the likes of A.P., Dicky Johnson, Jason Maguire, Paul Carberry, Ruby Walsh, Barry Geraghty, Carl Llewellyn, Mick Fitzgerald, Choc Thornton and so many others… They were incredible riders.

“Whatever I’ve achieved, I’ve had to work very hard at, especially with my height and weight. I suppose that’s what I’d be proud of; that I was committed to it. And that I made a lot of people happy.”

Making others happy was clearly important?

“Absolutely. That’s big for me, to show loyalty. I think of the late Kieran Kelly and Dessie Hughes, who have left an incredible mark on me. I’m so grateful to have met Robert and Sally Alner, and there was a mutual trust between us that they wanted what was best for me.

Key figures

“I got job offers down the years, including two very big jobs that I guarantee every other jockey would have taken, but I spoke to the boss [Robert Alner] and he guided me that they weren’t for me. I have no regrets because I trusted his judgement.

“I spoke to him about the job with Simon and Isaac too, and he gave that role his blessing. Today, Simon, Isaac and Anthony are like brothers to me and have helped take my career to a new level. I appreciate so much how they’ve taken me under their wing.

“I’d like to think all those people have helped produce the man I am today. Everything I’ve done, while also being for myself and my family, I’ve very much done it for Kieran Kelly, Robert Alner and all the Double Green team.”

One chapter may be behind him, but at the age of just 42, there ought to be plenty more verses to come for a horseman who continues to wear his heart on his sleeve.

“Honestly, I love what I do. Absolutely love it,” Jacob beams. “Horses are my best friends and you do get close to them. They are my life. Any day I can give back something to horses and racing - thinking about how much they have given to me - that’s something I want to do.”

The most talented horse he rode in his career

L’Ami Serge was a little monkey, but he was a serious horse. I loved riding him because he made me work! Sarah Shreeve rode him out every day and did the most wonderful job with him. I know I won a Grand National and that was very special, but winning the French Champion Hurdle on him in 2017 was one of the highlights of my career. He was stepping up to just over three miles and a furlong - people said he’d never stay - and I think it was probably the best ride I’ve ever given a horse. I got beaten on him in the Prix la Barka on his previous start, when I was fairly confident I’d have won if I rode him my way. I asked Simon if I could ride the horse my way in the French Champion, that I’d take the flak if he got beaten, and he gave me the confidence to approach it however I wanted. I ended up being stone-cold last, 30 lengths off the leader at one stage and I never moved on him. You can see on the replay, four yards after the line the horse was tiring right away. He’d never have won another way and I don’t think any British-trained horse has won the race since. He was a great one to have been involved with.

One defeat in a race he’d love another crack at

I don’t tend to have regrets, but when I got hampered in the Champion Chase on Sceau Royal in 2021, I was disappointed. We just got squeezed for space at an important part of the race and he wasn’t beaten far. I loved that little horse; we won 15 races together.

What he enjoys in his downtime

Golf, especially giving a good beating to Gavin Sheehan. That’s my idea of adrenaline nowadays!

An underrated jockey to watch out for

Maybe underrated is the wrong term, but a young conditional who I view as one to watch is Toby McCain-Mitchell. He’s going from strength to strength, claims 5lb and is in a good place with the Twiston-Davies team. He’s a tall lad and I hope he can keep his weight right for himself, because he’s got a bright future.

A dark horse to follow

I’m quietly looking forward to a horse of Simon and Isaac’s called Le Frimeur, trained by Harry Derham. J.J. Slevin won on him at Chepstow in November. He’s had a little bit of a setback since, but I think he’s going to be a lovely horse on soft ground - a three-mile chaser in time.

IT’S a case of all systems go with Talk The Talk for the Grade 1 Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival (currently 13/8 favourite) next month - one of the most exciting novice hurdlers in training this season.

His dramatic Leopardstown exit came in the middle of an otherwise fruitful festive window for Munir and Souede. There was a real result to savour for connections at Punchestown on New Year’s Eve, when four-time Grade 1 winner El Fabiolo got back on winning tracks over hurdles.

Meanwhile at Limerick, You Proof ran out a taking winner of the same maiden hurdle won by Corbetts Cross and Final Demand in recent years. He looks another bright prospect in the Double Green.

“We’re very much looking forward to Talk The Talk at Leopardstown,” says Jacob.

“I’ve sat on him before and always liked him; he’s a wonderful mover with a big, long stride. He possibly just needed a bit of time to develop, but I think this year he’s really blossomed at Joseph O’Brien’s. It was a pity he came down at Leopardstown, but we’re really excited about the future with him.

“It’s great to have El Fabiolo back, especially after how last season went for him over fences. He had a good, long holiday and we took our time with him this year - the most important thing is that he enjoys his campaign this season and I can’t see us overfacing him. The Red Mills Trial Hurdle at Gowran would look a nice race for him, and then possibly Aintree, but let’s see what happens.”

On the Willie Mullins-trained You Proof, Jacob adds: “He’s a really lovely horse; a fine, big, strapping chaser in the making who has a big, long knee action on him. He looks a proper soft ground, National Hunt horse.

“He beat a highly-touted horse of Henry de Bromhead’s [King’s Bucks], who had the advantage of a couple of previous runs on him this season, but we’ve always held our horse in high regard. After getting him back from some time out with an injury last year, we’re really looking forward to him now.”