Swan set to take flight for final time
Swan announced the decision yesterday after the rode Patriot Games, whom he trains for owner JP McManus, to victory in the final race.
The 35-year-old nine times Irish champion saluted the crowd and took plaudits of weighing room colleagues who had been primed to his impending retirement.
He will attempt one last hurrah on McManus's Like-A-Butterfly in the Grade One Martell Aintree Hurdle, a race he won four times, with Danoli (1994, 1995), Urubande (1996) and Istabraq (1999).
"I would have done it there and then had it not been for the mare tomorrow," Swan said. "I wanted to go out on one of JP's because he's been so good to me.
"I will retire tomorrow after riding Like-A-Butterfly. That definitely will be it," Swan said. "All year I was saying that I wanted to get to Cheltenham and Liverpool.
"I'd be thinking about retiring for a long time, and I just want to concentrate on the training and give it my best shot, get some better horses into the yard. When you get good horses you need to be in the yard as much as you can."
Asked to nominate one cherished day, Swan replied promptly: "Istabraq's third Champion Hurdle."
McManus led the tributes to Swan. He said: "He has been a master tactician and of all the jockeys to whom I have ever spoken he is undoubtedly the most knowledgeable. He can tell you so much after a race, he just knows the difference.
"I think of all the great moments we have had together. Istabraq's third Champion Hurdle has to be the best of them but there are many, many wonderful memories.
"It's sad in a way that Charlie has decided to stop but equally it's good that he is going to retire while he is still at the top and he can go out in one piece."
Meanwhile Native Upmanship put up a scintillating performance under the cheekiest of rides from Conor O'Dwyer to win the Grade 1 Martell Cognac Melling Chase at Aintree yesterday.
It looked a hot race on paper, but Native Upmanship made the opposition look ordinary over this two and a half miles, and the supremely confident O'Dwyer eased the Arthur Moore-trained gelding into the lead at the last fence.
And despite the presence of Tony McCoy upsides on Seebald, O'Dwyer consented only to let out the minimum of rein to allow his mount to ease a length clear, with Kadarann 18 lengths adrift in third.
Native Upmanship was the first favourite to win at the meeting, and there was no disguising Moore's delight as he said: "He is a top class horse, and he would have won last year's Champion Chase on the form he showed in the race this year which was the better race of the two he is a better horse this year."
And when asked if he was the best horse he has had over two and a half miles, he added: "He is a very hard horse to beat over that trip, and he is probably the best two and a half miler chaser anyone would train."
But a step up in distance now awaits the gelding as Moore went on: "He will probably go for the Heineken Gold Cup at Punchestown, but if the ground was very soft he would go for the two mile race."
The Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup is out of the equation however, as Moore reasoned: "If he ran there we would have to miss out this race (Melling Chase) - he is such a brilliant horse to train and such a consistent horse, and hopefully after the way he has won today I can't see why he can't have another two good seasons in him.
"Our whole season for him was built up to today and there was the extra pressure of him being favourite, but he did not let us down."
Moore admitted that 'it had been hard on the heart' and that he was relieved to see the winning post come for Native Upmanship with O'Dwyer taking things so coolly, and the latter said: "It was a nice feeling on the run-in but I did not say anything to Tony (McCoy) and he did not say anything to me but I was glad when the post came"!
