MICK Fitzgerald is looking forward to going out at the top after announcing plans to retire from the saddle at the end of the season.

The 36-year-old Irish jockey, who lives at Childrey, near Wantage, is one of an elite band to win both the Grand National (on Rough Quest in 1996) and the Cheltenham Gold Cup (on See More Business in 1999).

But with the opportunity to become director of an exclusive racing club, he has decided to bring the curtain down on a glittering career which has spanned almost 20 years.

Fitzgerald has won most of the major prizes in National Hunt racing, including the 1999 King George VI Chase at Kempton on See More Business.

And he has a host of victories to his name at the Cheltenham Festival - including the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Call Equiname (1999), the Stayers' Hurdle on Bacchanal (2000) and the Arkle Trophy on Tiutchev.

Despite never being champion, Fitzgerald is one of the six winning-most jump jockeys of all time with well over 1,000 successes.

He has been stable jockey to Nicky Henderson at Lambourn for more than ten years and their partnership has been one of the most successful in recent times.

They have also been a most formidable combination at Newbury, winning the Tote Gold Trophy three times with Sharpical (1998), Geos (2000) and Landing Light (2001) and teamed up last season to lift the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup with Trabolgan.

Fitzgerald said: "I wanted to go out at the top on my terms and this is probably the best way to do it.

"I've ridden some amazing horses and had some fantastic times with Nicky and I've been very lucky to be attached to somebody like him.

"He's a top-class trainer, but most importantly a first-class man.

"I've ridden so many great horses, too many to mention and I really couldn't pin down one to say it was the best.

"I thought that if anybody rode 100 winners they were lucky, let alone over 1,000."

Looking to the future, he added: "An offer came up to be director of racing for Club ISM and it was too good to turn down.

"It will be a fairly exclusive and unique operation and I'll be looking after the team of horses and the people inside the club.

"Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke, Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff have already signed up.

"You can't go on forever and I've been very lucky. I've had a fantastic run.