Racing: Battle-worn Sam Spratt calls it quits

Takanini jockey Samantha Spratt unsaddled her final mount at the Paeroa races this week then made the shock announcement she was quitting riding.

A winner of 83 races and a naturally talented lightweight rider, Spratt's future as a jockey seemed assured but she explained she had lost the will to compete.

"I've lost my love for it and my passion for being out there has gone," she said.

Spratt said she had mulled over the decision for the past six weeks, her first instinct to quit tempered by her loyalty to her employers, Colin Jillings and Richard Yuill, and the owners she regularly rides for.

"It's been a very hard and emotional decision," she said.

"Even when I told the boss I was in tears because they were the ones who gave me my opportunity.

"I love racing and I've had the time of my life being involved in it. It's been hard saying goodbye."

Spratt suffered severe concussion when she was thrown through the running rail in a horrific fall from Dragon Tiger at Trentham last January, an injury which saw her sidelined for more than six months.

Just as she was about to resume race-riding she ruptured a spleen as a result of a horse kicking out at her at the stables.

"I'm only 18 but I get up in the morning feeling like I'm 80."

- NZPA