Newmarket-based trainer Michael Jarvis has announced his retirement due to
health issues after 43 years in the profession. Famed for his handling of stars
Rakti, Carroll House and Eswarah (GB), the 72-year-old has had to endure heart
surgery and treatment for prostate cancer in recent times and has begun the
process of handing over charge of his Kremlin House stables to his longstanding
assistant Roger Varian.
“It was obviously a tough decision to have to take and it’s disappointing
I’ve been forced to retire,” Jarvis told
sportinglife.com.
“I’ve had a wonderful career and I’ve loved every moment of it. We’ve got a
lovely yard here and I intend for myself and my wife, Gay, to carry on our
business. We are installing Roger Varian as a salaried trainer and he will be
doing the training. All the owners have been very supportive. We have 90-odd
horses here and without exception every owner is very happy to stay.”
“It’s an unbelievable opportunity and I’m very grateful for the support
Michael has given me and the support our owners have given me,” Varian later
told sportinglife.com.
“I’ve been with Michael for 10 years, which is a good stint, and we’ve had some
great years. I’ve learned an awful lot off arguably one of the best trainers
there has been. I hope we’re in a very strong position for the season ahead.”
Jarvis’s top performer was the six-time Group 1 winner Rakti, who collected
five of those after being transferred to his care from Bruno Grizzetti by owner
Gary Tanaka in 2003. Carroll House was the winner of the 1989 Prix de l’Arc de
Triomphe (Fr-G1), while the Maktoum-owned fillies Ameerat (GB) and Eswarah
provided classic glory in the 2001 English One Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) and
2005 Epsom Oaks (Eng-G1), respectively.
“Michael has done remarkably well considering how he’s been recently and the
very strong team he put around himself helped a lot,” longtime stable jockey
Philip Robinson told At the Races. “The greatest asset for any trainer is
understanding his horses as individuals and getting the best out of them, and
Michael did that. He was a genius at finding out what they liked and what they
wanted.
“Rakti was a very tricky customer, but we worked him out and Michael used to
know saddling up whether he was in a good mood or a bad mood and that’s how well
he knew his horses.”
“Just read the very sad news that Michael Jarvis has announced his
retirement, one of my heroes, a true gent and a great trainer,” fellow trainer
Ed Dunlop paid tribute to Jarvis on Twitter.