RACING NEWS:Michael Dickinson, the man responsible for saddling the first five home in the 1983 Cheltenham Gold Cup, has announced his retirement from the training ranks.
The 57-year-old is winding down operations at his Maryland farm on America's East Coast and plans to have dispersed most of his horses by mid-December to concentrate on laying his all-weather surface Tapeta.
Dickinson said yesterday: "I need 100 per cent of my time to concentrate on Tapeta Footings.
"I spent most of last winter overseas and 50 per cent of my time this summer visiting Tapeta installations in five countries, which obviously leaves little time for training.
"I have been concerned for some time about the welfare of horses racing on unsuitable surfaces and really want to repay the horse in my own small way.
"In the United Kingdom, I am most proud of being champion jumps trainer three times and of winning the Racing Post's award for the Greatest Training Feat.
"In America, I am most proud of being runner-up in the Eclipse Leading Trainer Award, to have received the CV Whitney Award of Special Achievement and of building Tapeta Farm, from which I sent out eight Grade One winners in the first eight years.
"Including my riding and training careers both in the United Kingdom and America, I have won a total of 1,312 races and 151 stakes races - 85 stakes races being won in America."
Jonjo O'Neill, now a leading trainer himself, rode Wayward Lad to be third home in the 1983 Gold Cup and was quick to pay tribute to a legend. He said: "He was a very professional man in all that he did and was very meticulous. He was a good man to ride for and he did everything himself.
"I finished third on Wayward Lad when he trained the first five in the Gold Cup and the horse didn't quite stay the trip.
"In hindsight, he did me a favour as when I won the race on Dawn Run (in 1986), I knew Wayward Lad would not get up the hill so you could say that Michael won me a Gold Cup by giving me the ride."
In other news, L'Antartique has come through his final piece of work ahead of the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham with flying colours.
Ferdy Murphy's chaser, who won the Jewson Novices' Handicap Chase at the festival in March, enjoyed a recent pipe-opener at Carlisle where he won impressively.
A subject of significant support in the ante-post market recently, he is as low as 6 to 1 for Saturday's showpiece.
"Takashi (Iyama, lad) gave him a bit of work this morning and he was delighted - and he has ridden him for the last two years," said Murphy "He knows him quite well, he went up quite strong on the gallops and he was really pleased, he'll just tick over now until Saturday."
