LEGENDARY jockey Felix Coetzee has officially announced his retirement from race riding.

The three times South African champion, aged 54, decided to call it a day after struggling to recover from recent hip problems and subsequent replacement surgery.

However, Coetzee did confirm that because of his love of horses, he was working towards staying in the industry in some way.

Over an international career that spanned 38 years, Coetzee won an incredible 75 Group 1 races including the Durban July (three times), Gold Cup (eight times), J&B Met (5 times), Summer Cup (twice), Hong Kong Derby (twice), Hong Kong International Sprint (twice), and the Hong Kong Gold Cup (twice).

A bonus profile on Felix Coetzee, by Robyn Louw, is contained in the new Legends Of  The Turf 2 compilation, by Charl Pretorius, available on amazon.com and amazon.co.uk.

Photo by Hamish Niven Photography.