Retirement was probably the last thing on Piere Strydom’s mind on December 7 last year after he had won the Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas on the Brett and James Crawford-trained Fatal Flaw, but a nasty fall on December 31 at the Vaal has taken its toll. (JC Photos)
Piere Strydom said today from St. Francis Bay, where he has been having a break, “I’m really close to retirement, but I’ve just got to make a date and call it. Maybe the July will be the day, but I don’t know when, I have got make a call when I’m going to say enough is enough.”
Striker has ridden 56 winners this season and has the highest strike rate on the national log, 27.32%, and for most of the season he has looked evergreen and capable of continuing for a few more seasons.
However, he revealed, “That last fall took its toll, I have struggled to get over some of the injuries, because I pushed myself as well to get back early enough to ride See It Again in the Met and to ride Dyce. So maybe I came back a bit soon. I did do well straight after that, but I could feel it. A lot of people will say I had announced my pending retirement a long time ago, but I have never actually announced a date before.”
