RIDING ones first winner is a significant milestone for any jockey and I was fortunate enough to get off the mark aboard Windsor Higgins at Limerick last Sunday. It was vindication of a long journey which has taken me from Ballydoyle to France and back home to Tipperary a second time.

Although I grew up in a housing estate in Cashel, I had a family connection with racing, as my grandfather Liam Reilly was a trainer. Despite his yard being in County Longford, I visited on school holidays and long weekends. However, I took a bad fall from a racehorse at age 11 and declared there and then that I didn’t ever want to be a jockey!

I was true to my word for the next five to six years, concentrating on my studies and having little to do with horses. However, everything changed in transition year in school, when I got the opportunity to spend two weeks work experience in Ballydoyle.

At the end of the period I was offered a part-time job working weekends and school holidays. Initially I just mucked out the stables but after some time I asked Aidan (O’Brien) if he would put me up on a few horses.

I had been practising on my cousin’s pony and taken the occasional riding lesson, so was prepared for what lay ahead. At first I was only allowed ride the odd quiet racehorse but as I became more confident I progressed to more difficult ones.

Having started off riding one lot a day, I moved on to a second and third lot, often riding more on busy Sundays. I took out my amateur license while in Ballydoyle and had one ride - Oscar Wings for my aunt Ann Reilly.

FLYING HIGH IN FRANCE

In 2015, I left Ballydoyle and spent 14 months in France with leading national hunt trainer, Jean Paul Gallorini. The opportunity came about through a friend of mine who worked in Ballydoyle. He was French and made me aware that there was a vacancy for a jump jockey in Mr Gallorini’s stable. While there, I schooled some of the trainer’s leading Grade 1 horses, including Shannon Rock, one of the best chasers in France, best known for finishing second in four successive Gold Cups.

I also rode work on most of the yard’s top horses, a great experience at the time. Horses begin schooling as young as two in France, so not a day went by when I wasn’t schooling some of the stables 70-odd string.

I rode twice on the racetrack, at Clairefontaine and Auteuil respectively. In order to do so I had to take out a professional license, as in France, amateur jockeys are not allowed earn their living working with horses. They have to be employed in a different sector and only race-ride as a hobby. Eventually I came to the conclusion that France wasn’t going to work out long term, so I returned to Ireland. Initially I wasn’t sure just where my future lay as a jockey but shortly after coming home an opportunity presented itself.

OPPORTUNITIES

Ken Whelan is married to a cousin of mine and he kindly arranged for me to go and ride out for Harry and Jimmy Kelly. It was only ever meant to be as a work rider but they liked what they saw and promised that if I went full-time in the yard they would give me rides on the track.

In fairness, the lads have been true to their word, giving me loads of opportunities over the last year or so. Last season I had almost 30 rides on the racecourse, gaining plenty of valuable experience. I have been good friends with Steven Ryder for years and also started riding out for him in the evenings.

I rode Sunday’s winner, Windsor Higgins, at Wexford last time and although well beaten, Steven was expecting her to improve from the run and put up a much better show this time. However, as she was running in what looked a strong Beginners Chase on paper, we were more hopeful than confident.

As it turned out, she surprised us all, in doing so, giving me my first winner as a jockey. I was thrilled to ride a winner for Steven (Ryder) as he has been so good to me over the years. I am also very grateful to Harry and Jimmy Kelly for the support they have given me, as I am to leading jockey, Sean Flanagan, for his help and advice. My agent Ruaidhri Tierney also deserves a mention for his hard work in securing me much sought after rides.

Starting out, my main ambition was to ride a winner on the track. Now that I have achieved that aim, I am hoping it will get me going, leading to more rides which, in turn, lead to further winners. I can easily do 9-12 at present and am fairly strong at that weight. I was particularly pleased that my dad was present to see me win on Sunday, as he is undoubtedly my greatest supporter. He was a jockey himself, although never riding a winner. I think he enjoyed the success as much as I did. In a way, it was a win for both of us.

Paul O’Reilly was in conversation with John O’Riordan