WHILE everything seems to have just clicked for me recently, I am certainly no overnight success.

Having held a licence since 2013, the hard work I put in over the past seven years is only now paying off. Like every young jockey, I had to win races to get noticed but no-one was noticing me if I wasn’t winning races.

Fortunately, the opportunities arrived at the right time and I was best placed to take full advantage.

My father, Derek, was always into racing and had horses but it was through my uncle Mervyn that I really got going. The latter is a trainer based in Co Tyrone, so as a child, I was always up in the yard helping out.

All the family would go to Down Royal races if the stable had a runner, or else we would be glued to the television at home.

In my early teens, I played a lot of soccer and rugby but around the same time Mervyn taught me how to ride. It was only at that stage that dreams of one day becoming a jockey first entered my mind.

When I was 15, dad said that I should make a decision one way or another – I couldn’t ride out and/or play rugby at weekends. In the end, I decided that my future lay in racing, so I left the team sports behind and rode out for my uncle every Saturday.

If truth be told, I went in the odd school day as well, with dad a willing accomplice! Me being a jockey was his dream as much as mine.

Sadly, my father passed away shortly after, so Mervyn really stepped up and took me under his wing. I rode pony races for a season then went down to the Curragh to become apprenticed to Johnny Murtagh.

Incredible

It was an incredible experience for a young lad like myself; going from a small family run stable into a major up and coming yard. I learned so much during my time with Johnny and he was very good to me.

However, even then, my weight was always going to prevent me from making a career as a flat jockey. I rode in a few races and had opportunities but it was only ever a matter of time before I switched codes.

During my time with Johnny, I had taken out a jumps’ licence and even rode a few on the track for Mervyn. After leaving the Curragh, I spent a summer in Germany working for leading jumps trainer Christian Von Der Recke. It was another chance to experience a different way of training and how someone else does things.

On my return to Ireland, I went to work for Tony Martin in Co Meath. However, despite the trainer pushing my case, many owners quite understandably wanted more senior jockeys riding their horses. I really enjoyed my time working for Tony but in the end I left as I felt I just wasn’t going to get the chances.

Having returned to Kildare and based myself on the Curragh as a freelance jockey, I went into different yards riding out. I knew Aidan Howard from my time with Tony Martin and he asked if I would be interesting in coming to work for him full-time.

It was a decision I have never come to regret – Aidan has been fantastic, while Barry Cash was a huge help. Barry has years of race-riding experience and explained the finer points in great detail. Prior to that, l had been told what to do but not how to do it.

I rode my very first winner on Rossmore’s Pride at Down Royal in March 2018; a day I will never forget. However, any expectations that life was about to get a lot easier were soon dispelled, as it was well over a year before I had my next winner.

When that eventually arrived in the form of The Last Indian, I ended up winning two on the horse within the space of five days. It would be another six months before I was back in the winner’s enclosure.

Of course, there were days when I wondered if it was all worthwhile. However, my dad always said “you only get out what you put in”, so I just knuckled down and kept working as hard as I could.

Support

With the help and support of Aidan Howard and my agent Gary Cribbin, I started to get more rides which in turn led to winners. I was lucky enough to ride a few horses for J.P. McManus, something that undoubtedly helped kickstart my career.

When smaller owners and trainers see that one of the leading figures in the sport is putting you up on his horses it certainly puts weight behind you. My career really took off last season and I ended the campaign with 12 winners. After a bright start to 2020, I had hoped to better that number but once the lockdown set in I had my concerns.

Thankfully since racing resumed, I have been able to continue where I left off and at the time of writing I am on 19 winners for the current season. Last year, I rode my first winner on the flat [Franklyn], something I got a great thrill from.

I have had a few rides on the level again this season and it’s something I hope to do when my weight allows. However, my heart has and always will lie with National Hunt racing, so there is no danger of me switching codes!

Having finally got to a point where I am content with my career, the main aim over the coming seasons is to stay safe and injury free.

Aside from that I just want to get as many rides as possible and hopefully the winners will follow. I’d love to build up further contacts and get on some nice horses in the years ahead.

Simon Torrens was in conversation with John O’Riordan