Melbourne Cup winning jockey Brett Prebble announces retirement

Decorated jockey Brett Prebble has called time on his glittering career after more than 31 years in the saddle.

The Melbourne Cup winning jockey who rode extensively in Asia, announced on Tuesday that he was retiring from the saddle to concentrate on business.

Prebble runs a highly successful racing gear manufacturing business – Persuader International – which began as a sideline to his riding career from his father’s garage in Ballarat in 1995, a career that started as a 14-year-old when apprenticed to Terry O’Sullivan at Stawell.

After quickly rising through the ranks, Prebble headed to Flemington-based John Meagher where he quickly established himself as the leading apprentice and became a part of the Meagher family.

Prebble went on to win three Melbourne Apprentices’ Premierships, two Melbourne Jockeys’ Premierships, a Scobie Breasley Medal while also sharing one with Damien Oliver.

He rode a record breaking nine winners during Melbourne Cup week in 1999 and again the following year and became the first jockey to ride 100 winners in a season riding 99-½ (including a dead-heat) in the 1999-2000 season.

In late 2002, an offer came from the Hong Kong Jockey Club which Prebble expected to last just one season, but he was there until 2018 before returning to Australia.

He rode 803 winners in the Asian mecca, only bettered by fierce rival Douglas Whyte, Zac Purton and Joao Moreira, rode 18 Hong Kong Group 1 winners including Bullish Luck, Cape Of Good Hope, Sacred Kingdom and Lucky Nine.

He guided Bullish Luck to win the Yasuda Kinen in Japan in 2006, won the Singapore KrsFlyer International Sprint of three occasions along with return visits to Melbourne to win the Melbourne Cup in 2012 on Green Moon and the Golden Slipper in 2010 on Crystal Lily.

In 2018 Prebble returned to Melbourne , winning five Group 1 including the Caulfield Cup on c before running second in the Melbourne Cup on that galloper in the 2021.

In January 2023, Prebble relocated to Sydney and rode 42 winners, his last coming for Chris Waller on Bold Mac at Randwick on February 24.

“I’m so lucky to end an extraordinary career with my health and well-being intact with an exciting “life after riding” ready to go,” Prebble said in a statement.

“My new challenge is to develop Persuader International into the world leader in the manufacturing of horse racing equipment.

“Since my first ride as a 15-year-old, I’ve been blessed to have an amazing group guide and support me, and because of them, I’ve been able to experience the most incredible opportunities.

“For a kid from Ballarat, to have formed great relationships with some of the most successful people in the world of Australian and international horse racing, how special is that.”

Prebble retires with more than 2100 winners from around 16,500 rides, 25 Group 1 wins in Australia along with international Group 1 victories in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.

“I look back knowing I started my career with absolutely nothing,” Prebble said.

“I’m happy I gave it everything I could to be the best I could possibly be and I’m actually really proud of what I’ve achieved.”