RIDING my 1,000th career winner in Britain was a notable milestone which I was delighted to achieve earlier this month.
It had been a rather frustrating wait to reach that number, which was within touching distance last July, only for a broken leg to curtail a run of successive winners.
While I had already surpassed the milestone, if taking Irish wins into account, the injury meant that I sat on the 998 British winners until very recently.
Now that I have attained that goal, I hope to press on and enjoy another solid campaign in 2022.
My parents Anne and John always had horses and ponies at home, so myself and older brother Barry and sister Louise were involved from an early age.
There was a gang of us including Davy Russell and the Motherways, who would hunt together as kids. I did a bit of show jumping as well and later, in my early teens, I competed on the southern pony racing circuit.
Learning curve
The latter discipline provided a great learning curve, which stood to me when I went on to race-ride under rules. In all, I rode over 50 winners during the few seasons I was on the circuit.
During my school years, I rode out for local trainer Pat Budds, whose son Ken now holds the licence.
Barry and Davy were also riding out in the yard at that time but were a few years older. I also worked for another local trainer, Patrick Fitzgerald; a man who had nice success with Champagne Beauty last year.
From as early as I can remember, I always wanted to be a jockey and nothing else. So, after completing my Junior Certificate, I left school and went up to Paddy Mullins for a year.
While with Paddy, I got my apprentice licence and had my first few rides on the flat for him. My first winner was on Port Lush, for John Quinn, in an apprentices’ handicap at Leopardstown.
Two further winners followed during that first season (2000) but even at that point, I already knew my future lay in Britain.
Well established
Barry was well established as a jump jockey by then, having moved over four years previously. I had spent every summer holiday with him; riding out for David Elsworth. So, having got a great education in Ireland, I felt by 2001, the time was right to take the leap and join Barry in England.
In February, I went over to Ian Balding where I was based as an apprentice. That trainer had a well-deserved reputation for producing young jockeys, so I was thrilled to be working in his yard.
From the outset, I was given plenty of opportunities and even rode a Royal Ascot winner (Pentecost in the Britannia Handicap) during the second year I was with him. Andrew Balding, who had been assistant trainer to his father when I first arrived, took over the licence shortly after.
Like Ian before him, Andrew continued to put me up on lots of well-fancied horses in big handicaps. In 2004, I enjoyed one of my biggest successes when Spanish Don caused a 100/1 upset in winning the Cambridgeshire for David Elsworth.
That same horse gave me my first blacktype winner on his very next start, when winning a listed race at Newmarket.
During the course of my career, I have gone on to ride a number of listed and group race winners but to date that Group 1 horse has proved elusive.
Since establishing myself as a senior jockey, I have ridden an average of 70/80 winners per calendar year.
By July of 2021, I was aware that I was closing in on the 1,000th career winner and actually reached that target when Tregony won at Bath at the beginning of that month.
However, as a handful of those winners had come in my native Ireland, I still had another two before I could achieve the feat in Britain alone.
Broken leg
A freak accident in the paddock at Ascot put those ambitions on hold, as the horse I was due to ride bolted and threw me to the ground. I sustained a broken leg, which needed two plates and metal screws inserted.
Although I was devasted at the time, especially with the target in sight, I just had to knuckle down and get on with it.
I was fortunate in that living in Hungerford, I had the wonderful facilities at Oakley House right on my doorstep.
It definitely proved a huge help being able to call upon trained professionals to advise me in terms of training and recovery programmes. I went in for two hours every day throughout the period I was on the sidelines.
Having that extra incentive to get back and ride those remaining winners was also a huge motivational factor, as I felt I should have reached it six months earlier.
Going into the final race at Kempton on 1st February, I thought I might have to wait another day, as I was taking on a 1/6 favourite in a two-horse race. In the event, what was to transpire made headlines in more ways than one.
My mount, Havana Goldrush, ended up dead-heating with market leader, Golden Sands; in doing so providing me with my 1,000th career winner in Britain. It was also significant, as it was the first time since 2012 that a match race had ended in a dead-heat.
Being a two-runner race, I was able to take the Johnston horse on throughout, as there was no danger of a closer mugging us at the death.
Initially, I wasn’t sure if I had won or not but Golden Sands had his head down, while Havana Goldrush was coming back up, so I would happily have settled for the dead-heat.
There was no time for celebrations, as I didn’t get home until 11 that night and was back up at six to ride out for Clive Cox.
The long hours spent in the car, driving the length and breadth of the country is undoubtedly one of the downsides of being a jockey. I certainly clocked up the miles in pursuit of those 1,000 winners.
However, it’s worth it when you return to the winners’ enclosure, as I did once again the following evening at Kempton. Winner 1,001 aboard Fact Or Fable sees me set my sights on the next goal.
Liam Keniry was in converstation with John O’Riordan
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