'My body is crying out for help' - champion conditional jockey Luca Morgan announces shock retirement aged just 22

Luca Morgan said his body is "not healthy" and "crying out for help" after a prolonged battle with the scales caused him to quit the saddle on Thursday, just seven months after being crowned champion conditional.

The title has been won by some of the sport's finest riders and Morgan clinched the championship with 46 winners last season, 14 clear of his nearest pursuer Harry Kimber, but he will not add to his tally after announcing his retirement via social media.

The 22-year-old, who stands at 5ft 11in with a lowest riding weight of 10st 9lb, was replaced aboard his mount Harry's Hope at Ludlow on Thursday and said a family holiday and a niggling injury complicated his intended return to competitive riding.

Speaking to the Racing Post, he said: "After I was crowned champion conditional I was burnt out. I was doing light weights at the Cheltenham and Aintree festivals and I was at my bare minimum for a long time.

"After Sandown I had a week off and I went to Tenerife with my family. I didn’t eat like crazy and I was trying to mind it because I knew I had rides waiting for me, but I got back and weighed myself and I had 17lb to lose in two days.

"After taking some time off and sustaining an annoying foot injury I was getting back going and in Oaksey House every day for weeks, the weight came off a bit but not enough. I just couldn't see myself being able to do it any longer. It's not healthy, I'm not a healthy person at the moment and my body is crying out for help."

The jockey rode 91 winners overall and enjoyed his finest moment this year when Fiercely Proud landed the Listed bumper at Cheltenham on New Year's Day. The four-year-old is trained by his boss Ben Pauling, who Morgan credited for much of his success.

Morgan said: "I've managed to deal with my weight for the last two years but Ben was always quite good at helping me – if there was ever a weight I couldn't do he'd always be on my side, he never put any pressure on me, and if I was in a yard that was strict I wouldn't have got this far.

"What happened last season was unbelievable, I was immensely proud of myself but also that I could give him something back. I'm gutted to stop riding because it's all I've wanted to do since I was a little boy. I haven't accepted it quite yet but I put a few things on social media so I couldn't change my mind."

Luca Morgan: "It's hard to make plans for your future when you haven't accepted what has already been"Credit: Edward Whitaker

Morgan, whose 18-year-old brother Beau is based with Pauling and sits joint-fourth in this season's conditional championship, will continue to ride out while he decides his next career move, which could involve working towards taking out his own training licence.

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do," he said. "It's hard to make plans for your future when you haven't accepted what has already been. I'd like to stay in racing because it's all I know. I'd like to one day train but I'm under no illusions as to how difficult it is."

Pauling, who is based just outside of Cheltenham in Naunton, admitted Morgan's decision came as a little bit of a shock but paid tribute to the rider for his skill in the saddle and attitude out of it.

He said: "It's a very sad day for all of us because he's been such a massive part of the team for four years both at home and on track. Winning the conditional title meant a huge amount to him and to everyone at the yard.

"He had an incredibly calm head on young shoulders and it didn't matter what the race was, he was always very tactically astute and he was never afraid to go to plan B or C if A wasn't working out. His knowledge helped massively with his success – he knew everyone else's horses as well as his own.

"He was a very, very talented young rider. We're very proud of what he's achieved and the way he's dealt with this. Hopefully he'll have a very exciting future in what he chooses to do."

LUCA MORGAN CV

Full name Luca Morgan

Born October 12, 2001

Apprenticeship Amateur rider; conditional jockey with Ben Pauling, Bourton-on-the Water & Naunton, Gloucestershire

First winner Hoke Colburn (trainer Brian Barr) amateur riders' chase, Ludlow, October 25, 2018

Listed winner Fiercely Proud (2023 JCB Junior NH Flat Race, Cheltenham)

Other notable winners Quinta Do Mar (2021 & 2022 Salmon Spray Hurdle), Slipway (2022 Highland National, Southern National), Bangers And Cash (2022 Lincolnshire National), Shakem Up'Arry, On Springs, Twig, Le Breuil

Cheltenham Festival runner-up No Ordinary Joe (2023 Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Hurdle)

Last winner Mole Court, Worcester, July 5, 2023

Champion conditional jockey 2022-23 (46 wins)

Total career wins 91

Compiled by John Randall

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