‘It’s been tough’ says Kevin Stott after loss of Amo job and break-up with Megan Nicholls
ALMOST a year ago to the day, Kevin Stott crossed the line in fourth place aboard King Of Steel at Leopardstown.
Roger Varian’s gigantic three-year-old was well-fancied for the Irish Champion after his fine run in defeat in the King George two months earlier.
As per usual, the horse travelled strongly through the race but he could never quite overhaul Auguste Rodin, who won narrowly after a Ballydoyle tactical masterclass.
Stott, 30, was understandably deflated. This was his and owner Kia Joorabchian’s best horse and, on another day, the Irish Champion could have fallen his way.
But he wasn’t expecting the events which unfolded over the next few minutes and hours as he returned on board King Of Steel after the race.
In full view of everyone around the winners’ enclosure, he was given a major dressing down by his boss Joorabchian, who was not at all happy with the ride.
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He isn’t the first jockey to get a bollocking after a race, and he won’t be the last.
But it was clearly the moment Joorabchian decided to give him the heave-ho after just seven months in the job.
And 24 hours later, after hot favourite Bucanero Fuerte finished third in a Group 1 at the Curragh, his sacking as Amo Racing’s jockey was confirmed.
Joorabchian, of course, has been no stranger to hiring and firing during his seven years in racehorse ownership, as have several other high-profile owners.
Since entering the sport in 2017 with just three horses, the operation has exploded in size and so has the list of trainers who’ve had Amo runners in their yards.
In the UK and Ireland, some 32 trainers have at one point or another been on the Amo roster, each for varying lengths of time.
Before Stott got the job, Rossa Ryan was unexpectedly given his P45 despite a decent run of success as Amo’s jockey.
David Egan currently occupies one of the hottest seats in the sport.
But the sacking came as a massive gut-punch to Stott, who said: “Of course, there was a bit of pressure on me going into Irish Champions weekend last year.
“Pressure often means you’re on good horses and riding on the big days, so pressure as a rider isn’t a bad thing. It’s just very unfortunate the good horses I was riding got beat that weekend.
“It did come as a shock when Kia made his decision and sent me a text after the Curragh to tell me.
“I thought after the year we’d had together we were going to stay on for a little bit longer.
“I thought we were having good success and the whole team were doing great, so of course it was a surprise and it’s a blow to lose a big job like that.
“I enjoyed the Amo job and Kia gave me some incredible opportunities. We had some great days together but it was his decision and that’s the way it is.”
It was undoubtedly a bitter spill to swallow and it didn’t help that he split up with his girlfriend of two years Megan Nicholls around the same time.
And his decision to recharge his batteries by spending time with his family back in Denmark last winter came back to bite him when he returned as a freelance this year.
He currently has 29 winners to his name in 2024 having booted home 93, several in high-profile races for Amo, last season and his rides and earnings are way down.
Stott said: “It’s been tough, I’m not going to lie, it’s my first time going freelance and I wasn’t sure how it was going to go.
“I would have hoped it would have gone a lot better than it has.
“It didn’t help that I took the majority of the winter off. I felt like I needed a bit of time away with family over Christmas and thought it was the best thing to do, but it probably wasn’t.
“I should have ridden on the all-weather because owners and trainers want a jockey who’s in demand, so that’s a lesson learnt.
“I’m eager and it’s just trying to get the right connections for that to happen. You just have to keep grafting, you can’t let things get you down.”
Despite the risks, Stott wouldn’t hesitate to take another job if it came along. And he is hungry to prove he belongs at the highest level.
He said: “The best thing for a jockey is to have a retainer. It’s guaranteed rides and in this game it’s tough to say no.
“As a jockey you have to deal with good times and bad times, but I just want to show people I’m still here and can still do the job when I get the chance.”
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