ALTHOUGH I rode 48 winners in Britain over the last two years, Dun Na Sead was my first in Ireland when victorious at Dundalk last Friday. In many ways, it felt like riding my first all over again and I certainly enjoyed the experience.

At a time when many young Irish apprentices are moving to the UK in order to further their careers, I made the opposite journey, moving back home to further mine.

I was thrilled to get that initial success on the board last week; hopefully I can now go on and build from here.

No one in my family had any involvement with horses. In fact, neither did I, until I was 16. At that stage, a few of the lads I used to hang around with were either riding out in yards or had left school to work full-time in racing.

I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, so I contacted a few trainers and Dick Brabazon gave me a chance.

At that point, I hadn’t even sat on a horse, so I had a few lessons with Lorraine Reid before starting at Brabazon’s. I was friendly with James Hughes, whose father Emmanuel had breeze-up horses, so I also went into his yard whenever time allowed.

It was mostly school holidays and weekends initially but I did a summer with Dermot Weld before my Leaving Certificate. After finishing school, I then signed on as an apprentice to Adrian Keatley.

At that time, Adrian had taken the decision to relocate to Britain, so he was winding down and only had 10-15 horses. Given my relative inexperience, he probably had his work cut out for him but he really made a rider out of me.

Major influence

I improved considerably during the time I spent working in his yard and credit Adrian with being a major influence on my career. I thought I had some idea about race-riding but after a few spins on the track during 2019, I soon found out I still had a lot to learn!

Without having grown up riding horses or pony racing, I was playing catch up for the first couple of years. Adrian felt that there would have been little point in me following him to the UK, so he arranged a placement with Ian Brennan in Ocala (Florida) in order to gain much needed experience.

Newbridge-born Brennan has an incredible training facility at Stonestreet Stables and I enjoyed the three months I spent working for him. However, with the onset of Covid, I had to cut short my stay and returned home to Ireland in early 2020.

Initially, I went back to Dermot Weld but mid-way through the season, I decided that it was time to leave Ireland, as the opportunities just weren’t there at that time.

I had noticed that Irish-born trainer Kevin Ryan, wasn’t afraid to use apprentices but didn’t actually have one based in his yard. So, I got his number, gave him a call and Kevin said he was happy for me to come over.

After arriving in August 2020, I had a couple of rides for the stable but it was early the following year before things really got going. In February, I rode my first career winner; Elusive Treat for Richard Fahey at Kempton.

Following a few more winners on the all-weather, the turf season began slowly but after a double for Kevin Ryan at our local Thirsk track in June, I enjoyed a good end to the second half of the season. In all, I rode 23 winners during that first full campaign in Britain.

Fortunate

My boss was very good to me, as was fellow Irishman, Richard Fahey. Both men aren’t afraid to give young apprentices a chance in some of the bigger handicaps and I was fortunate enough to ride in some major races.

Riding Blenheim Boy in the Britannia Handicap at Royal Ascot last year was certainly a great experience; one of the highlights thus far. A number of other trainers also supported me throughout my time in Britain and I am grateful to each of them.

My agent, Niall Hannity, also played a big role in my success during the two years I spent in England. Last term, I ended up with 25 winners, bettering the figure of the previous season. I came home for Christmas 2021 but having made such an impact during my first season, I knew that I had to go back to England in order to develop further as a jockey.

Opportunities

With the amount of racing over there, opportunities come along more regularly and there are plenty of race meetings. However, I always planned on returning to live in Ireland at some stage, as I didn’t see myself settling in Britain for the rest of my life.

I knew that if I rode out my claim, it would become that bit more difficult for me. In Britain, once you reach 50 winners you lose your 5lb claim, whereas the ceiling is 65 in Ireland.

With 48 winners, I felt that the time was right to make the move home, given how close I was to having my claim reduced to 3lbs.

I made contact with a few trainers in Ireland prior to coming home and Danny Murphy got back to me. He said that I should come see Kieran Cotter and himself, as they were increasing in numbers and had an opportunity for a stable apprentice.

Danny is set to join Kieran on the licence in the coming months and it looked a great chance to team up with an exciting up and coming operation.

The lads have double the number of horses they had just over a year ago, so there appears much to look forward to.

With their yard being located just 20 minutes from my own place, it also meant that I could live at home. I already had the job secured when I moved back to Ireland earlier this year.

Danny has trained winners all over the world, so his input and advice are invaluable. He goes through all the replays with me and has been instrumental in terms of guidance with regards to race-riding.

I have been working on the simulator with Cathy Gannon in recent times and that too, has helped improve my overall technique.

Dun Na Sead’s win last Friday night wasn’t a huge surprise but it was a great way to cement the new partnership. Prior to the race we felt that she was working well and had a chance but being drawn wide was an obvious concern.

In the circumstances, the filly broke exceptionally well and in truth, she won her race in the first furlong.

Owners the Kildare Racing Syndicate are great supporters of the yard, so a big thank you to Liam Clarke and the other members for giving me the opportunity.

Hopefully, Dun Na Sead can go on and win again and I can ride plenty more winners in the coming months.

My weight is very good at the minute and my new agent Dave Keena has been working hard on my behalf.

Oisin McSweeney was in conversation with John O’Riordan