RETIRED jockey, riding coah and author Mick Kennedy will be laid to rest in Dublin today (Saturday). Aged 86, he passed away peacefully on Wednesday in Our Lady’s Hospice, Harold’s Cross.

He rode 470 winners in a 30-year career which began in the 1950s. Widely acclaimed for his polished professionalism and cool head, he rode for some top trainers including Vincent O’Brien and Tom Dreaper.

Kennedy won a slew of big races in the 1960s, most notably the 1966 Phoenix Stakes on Jadeite. He was one of the first Irish jockeys to make his mark on the international scene when winning the Indian 2000 Guineas in 1955 and he also rode in the Presidential colours in the Washington International at Laurel Park in 1962.

On his retirement he began instructing trainee jockeys at RACE in Kildare. He also spent four years as a jockey coach in Japan. In 2002 he published Winning Ways, an illustrated guide to race-riding aimed at young jockeys.

RACE director Keith Rowe said: “Mick was a true gentleman, genuine, full of integrity and always a pleasure to meet. May he rest in peace.”

His funeral Mass is at 12.30pm in St Mary’s Priory, Tallaght, with burial afterwards in Bohernabreena Cemetery.

He is survived by his wife Emma and children John, Juanita, Michael and Brian.