ETHEN Ahearne, former stable jockey to Aga Khan winner Greg Broderick, has struck out on his own in advance of the 2016 season.

The Clonmel, Co Tipperary, rider had an extremely successful two years with Broderick’s Ballypatrick Stables and prior to that he was based in show jumping dealer Jan Altena’s yard in Twente, Holland.

However Ahearne made the decision to go solo in November and is now based in Lissava Stud, Cahir, where he has 12 horses currently in work.

“I owe an awful lot to Greg, I got to ride some very nice horses in his yard,” Ahearne told The Irish Field. “Last year I qualified five horses from Ballypatrick for Dublin and rode the winner and the third-placed horse in the four-year-old championship.”

ESI Star Struck, bred by the Hughes family’s Ennisnag Stud, (by Lamm De Fetan out of the Tampa-sired dam Halona De La Vie) was part-owned by Broderick and produced for his Dublin win by Ahearne.

He also piloted the Ars Vivendi-sired Boleybawn Actor, bred by Ronan Rothwell and owned by American Pearl Biederman, to third place in the Mo Chroi championship.

“I learned a lot from Greg, especially about the business of buying and selling,” said Ahearne.

The majority of his 12 rides for the 2016 season are young horses, with a pair of four-year-olds being aimed at the Dublin qualifiers and the five and six-year-olds targeted at the ISH Studbook league and Dublin.

“I enjoy producing young horses and I have great facilities here at Lissava to do that, with an indoor, gallops and everything else I need. I am very grateful to all my owners for this opportunity and looking forward to the coming season,” he said.

The rider will also be campaigning the nine-year-old CSF Royal Cruz on this summer’s National Grand Prix circuit. Owned by Headley Stud, the Cruising x Cavalier Royale gelding was jumped on the European circuit throughout 2015 by Brian Cournane.