Whenever Greg Childs' name is mentioned, inevitably the name Sunline comes up as well and he is more than happy for that to be so despite his many other achievements."She lifted my profile ten-fold and my bank balance the same amount," Childs said.Among his wins on the champion mare were two Cox Plates, a Doncaster Handicap and a Hong Kong International Mile.Childs, who retires after riding at Flemington on Saturday, has ridden around 2,100 winners, 72 Group One winners - 37 in Australia - inclu

Whenever Greg Childs' name is mentioned, inevitably the name Sunline comes up as well and he is more than happy for that to be so despite his many other achievements.

"She lifted my profile ten-fold and my bank balance the same amount," Childs said.

Among his wins on the champion mare were two Cox Plates, a Doncaster Handicap and a Hong Kong International Mile.

Childs, who retires after riding at Flemington on Saturday, has ridden around 2,100 winners, 72 Group One winners - 37 in Australia - including two Cox Plates and two Caulfield Cups.

His major achievements include two Victorian metropolitan jockeys' premierships and a Scobie Breasley Medal.

The son of New Zealand owner-trainer Brian Childs, he was an accomplished pony club rider and left school at 15 to take up an apprenticeship with Hawera trainer Brian Deacon.

He rode his first winner Stormee at Hawera in 1978 at just his seventh ride and was New Zealand's leading apprentice in 1978-79.

He rode his first Group One winner aboard Summer Haze in the 1980 Sires' Produce Stakes at Palmerston North.

Over the next decade he built up a reputation as one of the leading jockeys in New Zealand.

He regards his win aboard Stylish Dude in the 1984 Auckland Cup as his most prestigious success at that stage of his career. He also won four New Zealand Oaks between 1982 and 1987.

"I went to the United States in 1985 and rode three winners at Hollywood Park which was a huge buzz. That was the first time I travelled outside New Zealand," he said.

"The first time I came to Australia was in September 1990 to ride some horses for Ray Verner and Mr Brooker for Peter Hurdle."

Childs won the Geelong Cup on Mr Brooker and finished third on him behind Kingston Rule in the Melbourne Cup.

"That was the springboard to basing myself here and I decided to give myself six months and I'm still here today," he said.

Childs followed in the footsteps of Kiwi jockeys Midge Didham, Gary Willetts, Bob Skelton and Jim Cassidy who all forged successful careers in Australia.

"My first year I finished fifth in the jockeys' premiership and the following year I had the backing of Tommy Hughes and Bart Cummings and won my first premiership," he said.

The first of his Australian Group One winners came on the Hughes-trained Umatilla in the 1990 Karrakatta Plate at Ascot.

Childs rode five winners from five mounts at Flemington on January 7, 1992.

His 1991-92 Victorian metropolitan jockeys' premiership with 69 winners led him to securing a contract to ride in Hong Kong where he spent part or full seasons 1994 to 1996.

He won the 1993 Hong Kong International Cup on the Laurie Laxon-trained Romanee Conti, raced by the Vela brothers and the dam of Caulfield and Melbourne Cup winner Ethereal.

He returned to Melbourne and won his second premiership in 1997-98 with 78 wins and also took out the Scobie Breasley Medal for that season for riding excellence which he described as a great honour.

Childs teamed with Adelaide trainer Leon Macdonald to take the 1998 Australian Guineas and, in Sydney, the AJC Derby on Gold Guru while also partnering several quality racehorses for the late Peter Hayes including 1999 Newmarket Handicap winner Isca and Australian Cup winner Istidaad.

The Trevor McKee-trained Sunline had already won eight races and was beaten at her ninth start before Childs gained the ride on the then three-year-old filly and won the 1999 Kewney Stakes on her at Flemington.

He won the Moonee Valley Oaks on her as well, but Larry Cassidy regained the mount and won the Doncaster Handicap.

Childs' third ride on the great mare was the following spring when she won the 1999 Cox Plate and he was never off her back again for the rest of her career.

In all he rode her in 33 of her 48 starts. He was aboard Sunline in 22 of her 32 wins and partnered her in 11 of her 13 Group One victories.

"That just speaks volumes," he said. "She got better as she got older. She was masculine looking and she showed that on the racetrack too by demolishing the opposition."

Childs' highlights on Sunline obviously included her two Cox Plates, the second of which equalled Dulcify's seven-length record winning margin; the 2002 Doncaster Handicap when she carried 58kg - a weight carrying record for a mare - and the 2000 Hong Kong International Mile victory.

Childs also rode Sunline into third place behind Jim And Tonic in the 2001 Dubai Duty Free.

He was unbeaten in six rides on the Fred Kersley-trained Northerly including the 2002 Caulfield Cup and 2001 Australian Cup and Childs rates him as the best horse he rode apart from Sunline.

"Trevor McKee offered me the opportunity to get off Sunline to ride Northerly in the Cox Plate after I won the Caulfield Cup on him.

"Trevor said 'if you want to get off Sunline, that's fine by me'. Naturally I said no," said Childs who rode Sunline into fourth place at her last race start in Northerly's 2002 Cox Plate.

"He'd been loyal to me and my family wouldn't let me get off her anyhow. She'd built half of the house."

In more recent times, Childs' best wins were the 2008 Australasian Oaks and South Australian Derby aboard the Pat Hyland-trained Zarita and the 2007 Queensland Oaks on the Mike Moroney-trained Eskimo Queen.

Moroney who will supply the jockey with two of his rides at Flemington on Saturday - Butwaittheresmore and Papa.

Childs rode Moroney's first winner as a trainer and the pair had combined to win the 1997 Victoria Derby with Second Coming.

It would be fitting if Moroney could give Childs his last winner.

"I've had a great career. I've been all around the world doing what I love doing, riding," Childs said.