Jim Crowley has retired from race riding at the age of 48, confirming on Saturday that injuries sustained in a fall at York last September have ended his time in the saddle. The announcement came on the final day of the Goodwood Festival — a course he described to the Press Association as his home track. He plans to begin training in 2027.
The news ends a career that spanned both codes of racing. Crowley started out over jumps before switching to the Flat, where he built his reputation into one of the sport’s most decorated records.
From National Hunt Beginnings to Flat Champion
His first Group-race win came aboard Rod Millman’s Hawridge Prince in the 2006 Jockey Club Cup. A further five years passed before he broke through at the top level, winning the King’s Stand at Royal Ascot on Robert Cowell’s Prohibit. The biggest career milestone followed in 2016, when he was crowned champion jockey — an achievement that led directly to his appointment as retained rider for Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Shadwell Stud operation.
That role transformed his career. He spent winters competing in Dubai and rode a string of elite horses under the Maktoum family silks.
Baaeed, Battaash and the Shadwell Years
Crowley rode some of the best horses of his generation during the Shadwell era. He told the Press Association that Baaeed was the finest he sat on — the son of Sea The Stars whom he regards as arguably the best miler since Frankel. Two moments aboard Baaeed stood out: a Queen Elizabeth II Stakes victory at Ascot and the Juddmonte International, the horse’s first try at ten furlongs.
Battaash earns his own distinction. Crowley rated the sprinter the best over five furlongs he encountered, pointing to a track record-breaking Nunthorpe at York as a particular highlight. Hukum, Ulysses, Mohaather, Minzaal, Mostahdaf, and Anmaat were among the other top-class performers he partnered across a career he described as beyond anything he imagined when leaving jumps racing.
He spoke warmly of the Maktoum family’s role, crediting Sheikha Hissa and her late father for giving him an opportunity that defined the second half of his riding life.
Injury Ends Career, Training Plans Begin
The fall at York triggered a prolonged spell on the sidelines. Multiple operations on his pelvis and legs followed, and after an extended recovery Crowley concluded his body could not return to the standard required for race riding at the top level.
He has already completed the necessary training modules and plans to apply for his licence, spending time with different trainers over the coming months before establishing his own yard ahead of the 2027 season.
His ambition is straightforward. He told the PA he would be content with half the success as a trainer that he enjoyed in the saddle.
Goodwood was a fitting stage. Crowley said the Sussex venue holds some of his fondest memories, making it the right place to formally draw a line under his riding career.
