Out on a Win

Champion Taranaki jockey Greg Childs, 46, is retiring from a 30-year career which began in New Zealand in the 1970s as an apprentice and ended with a win in the Bounty Hawk Handicap on Game Serena at Flemington. Trainer Mike Moroney first met Childs in New Zealand when Moroney was a travelling foreman for trainer Dave O’Sullivan. He was immediately impressed. “He was very ambitious and competitive and he had this self-belief,” Moroney said. “Throughout his career, he’s been a real competitor and a perfectionist. He is probably one of the most professional riders going around and he’s loyal also. All young riders should look up to him.” Childs, who rode 787 winners in New Zealand before crossing the ditch and winning more than 1200 races in Australia and 150 overseas, scored 72 group 1 successes throughout his decorated career. “You can’t go on forever and I reckon 30 years is a pretty good run,” Childs said.