I SPENT the formative years of my apprenticeship based at home in Ireland, but my career really took off once I made the decision to relocate to Britain.

Latterly, I have based myself in the US, where I continue to ride plenty of winners and compete in high grade races. I have never felt that being a female jockey was a drawback – I think it’s just difficult for most apprentices at home, as we have so little racing.

My family own and train horses, so I was born into a racing environment. Initially, I rode out at home but in my early teens I started going into Edward O’Grady’s with my brother Martin.

He rode out there and I went in at weekends, learning a great deal in the process.

By that stage I had already decided that I wanted to become a jockey. I did a lot of showjumping and hunting while in school; competing for the Ursulines in inter-school competitions.

Opportunity

As I started school very young, I did my Leaving Certificate at 17 and was then free to pursue my dream. I went to RACE, from where I was sent out to Mick Halford on my work placement.

Mick has a great reputation for producing young jockeys, so I was thrilled to get the opportunity to work for him. Johnny Murtagh was stable jockey at the time, while Shane Foley, Gary Carroll, Conor Hoban and Rory Cleary were fellow apprentices.

In fact, it was through Rory that I rode my first winner, as he kindly put me forward for the ride on his dad’s mare, Miranda’s Girl, at Dundalk.

I rode two further winners that season but my career never really took off in Ireland. Mouse O’Ryan put me in touch with Kevin Ryan in England, who took me on as an apprentice.

Although it was towards the end of the 2010 season when I arrived in Britain, I hit the ground running, riding 12 winners in the closing weeks of the campaign. I got so many opportunities from Kevin over the next five seasons; riding everything from stable first strings to two-year-old winners.

With three or four meetings a day in Britain, there are more chances for everyone and I picked up so much experience, which in turn, built up my confidence.

Kevin was never afraid to put me up on the big days, so I was fortunate to ride at some of the really prestigious meetings during those years.

In all, I rode over 95 winners in Britain, riding out my claim in the process. As with any jockey, be they male or female, it gets more difficult after losing your claim – I was no different.

I found myself driving four or five hours for maybe one, or two, moderate rides, then stuck in traffic for hours afterwards.

I went over to America for a few months towards the end of 2015, just to see what I thought of the country. Having decided to make a go of it, I came home briefly to sort out a 12-month visa, then returned.

I didn’t race-ride until the summer of 2016 but when I did, I enjoyed great success. Based with Kelvyn Gorder in Keeneland, I rode 30 winners in the first two months of holding a licence.

After my visa ran out, I reapplied and was granted a five-year visa, thus giving me every chance to make a name for myself out here.

Biggest wins

Two of my biggest career wins came at Kentucky Downs in 2018; a $130,000 and $50,000 handicap within the space of two days. It is very different in the US, as no-one has a stable jockey as such. You can go in and ride work for any trainer, no matter how big they are.

I am basically riding freelance but most of my winners recently have been for an Irish trainer named Jimmy Corrigan. I currently have a year and a half left on my existing visa but the plan is to renew it once it expires.

I would hope to ride on for at least another five years, after which I can sit down and reassess my life.

With the bloodstock industry so strong here in Kentucky, it is something that I hope to get into over the coming years. I have bought a couple of yearlings and broken them for the sales, so I know it’s an area that I could have a future in.

For the present, however, I feel that I still have plenty to offer as a race-rider.

Julie Burke was in conversation with John O’Riordan