At the time of writing, Tipperary-born jockey Shane Crosse, 21, has recently announced his retirement after admitting defeat in his battle with the scales. Reflecting on what the ‘Racing Post’ described as ‘his prolific six years in the saddle’, Crosse said, ‘Obviously my weight has been an issue for a few years, but I’ve been especially struggling of late.’ He added, ‘It’s sickening to an extent, but I had an absolute ball and have no regrets.’
Crosse, whose lowest riding weight in the last 12 months was 8st 13lb, rode his first winner, G Force, at Naas in April, 2018, and was still at school when he was crowned Irish Champion Apprentice, with 27 winners, at the same course the following November. As first apprentice to Co. Kilkenny trainer Joseph O’Brien, he rode out the remaining 3lb of his claim at Leopardstown in July, 2020, with a treble on Galileo Chrome, Numberoneson and Full Moon Magic, all saddled by O’Brien.
The following September, he was forced to forfeit the ride on Galileo Chrome in the St. Leger at Doncaster, after testing positive for Covid-19, and so missed out on what would have been his first victory at the highest level. However, he didn’t have to wait long for his maiden Group 1 success, steering the two-year-old Pretty Gorgeous to half-length win in the bet365 Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket the following month.
Next up came the four-year-old Thundering Nights in the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh in June, 2021, and Crosse completed his quartet of Group 1 wins with a notable double on another four-year-old, State Of Rest, the following season. Described by Crosse as ‘the horse of a lifetime’, State Of Rest won the Prix Ganay at Longchamp in May, 2022, and followed up, under an expertly judged ride, when making all to win the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot the following month. All told, Crosse rode exactly 200 winners in his native land and three on British soil, of which two were Group 1 winners.