Racing: Veteran rider retires

SIMON McNEILL, the senior National Hunt jockey, yesterday ended a 22-year career which amassed over 360 winners when retiring from the saddle at Chepstow. The 42-year-old's final ride, Barnane Walk, faded into 10th behind Frosty Canyon in a division of the bumper.

The jockey's weighing room colleagues gathered around the winners' circle and he was hoisted on to the shoulders of Jimmy Frost and Chris Maude.

McNeill's biggest win came on Katabatic in the 1991 Queen Mother Champion Chase. A new career as a Jockey Club starter gets under way at Wolverhampton on Wednesday.

"I escaped serious injury so I was very lucky," McNeill said. "I've had a really good innings but now it's time to move on."