WHEN my boss Philip Hobbs phoned me up earlier in the week offering me the ride on Thyme Hill in the Brown Advisory Novices Chase at Cheltenham, it was a dream come true.

To get the opportunity to ride a leading fancy at the festival meeting is every jockey’s ambition but, in my case, it takes on even greater significance.

Thirty years ago, my family had a close involvement with a festival winner that still retains a place in local folklore in my home village of Rathanna, Co Carlow. It would be amazing if I could add my own chapter to the story later this month aboard Thyme Hill.

My uncle, Jimmy Neville, who grew up just a few miles away in Wexford, emigrated to Britain where he built up a successful plant hire business. As M & N Plant Hire Ltd flourished, he had more time to devote to his passion for horse racing; first as an owner and latterly, as a trainer.

Significant success

He built his own training facility in Newport, Wales, but prior to that enjoyed significant success with Martin Pipe. In 1993, Olympian, a gelding he had bought from Peter Walwyn, became the inaugural winner of the Coral Cup at Cheltenham.

In doing so, he picked up a £50k bonus, having won the Imperial Cup at Sandown just five days earlier.

In subsequent years, that bonus has only been won on two further occasions, both by horses trained by the Pipe family (Blowing Wind and Gaspara).

I was very young at the time but can just about remember the hype and excitement created by Olympian. Some of the family travelled over to the Cotswolds, while the remainder, including myself, watched on television.

Two of our close neighbours James O’Brien and Jimmy Kelly rode under rules years ago - the former as an amateur, the latter an apprentice.

Both men inspired me as a child, basically teaching me how to ride from scratch. Racing, point-to-pointing and hunting have always been popular in our locality and I was on horseback from a young age.

By the time I was old enough to sit on thoroughbreds, Jimmy Neville had started to train from his purpose-built yard in Newport, so I would go over at every opportunity.

Weekend job

One afternoon at Gowran Park, my mother asked Tom Foley if there was any weekend job at his yard and I started the following Saturday. Danoli had been retired a few years at that stage but Tom still had some high-class horses including Yogi and Royal Paradise.

The Foley family were really good to me, essentially opening the door into racing; giving me that first big break. Being a family run operation, there wasn’t that pressure you would find in a bigger yard, so I was able to mature and develop as a jockey.

At 16, I took transition year out from school; going to RACE on the Curragh. I spent my placement with John Oxx, another man that helped me a great deal.

In fact, he offered me the chance to sign on as an apprentice but my mother was adamant that I would return to education and finish my Leaving Certificate.

With fewer opportunities in Tom Foley’s, I started riding out for Éamon ‘Dusty’ Sheehy, with whom I took out an amateur licence. Justified, the Grade 1 Power Gold Cup winner, was the very first horse I ever sat on in his yard.

Influence

I also got to school Trafford Lad, dual Grade 1 winner, over fences and rode Rathgar Beau in a piece of work at the Curragh alongside Ruby Walsh. Similar to Tom Foley before him, Éamon was a huge influence on my career in the early days when I was starting out.

However, by 2008, the recession had hit and he found himself drastically reduced in numbers. I moved on to Mags Mullins for a further two years but with opportunities in Ireland few and far between, I found myself at something of a crossroads.

In 2009, I rode my first ever winner under rules; Wellforth for Caroline Hutchinson at Limerick. Prior to that, I had ridden two point-to-point winners but that was the extinct of my success up until then.

Opportunity

In November 2010, I got the opportunity to join the Philip Hobbs yard as an amateur. Aidan ‘Scobie’ Fitzgerald, a neighbour and close friend of mine, arranged it through Darren O’Dwyer, who was assistant trainer at the time.

I had known Aidan for a number of years, as we had hunted together. Thankfully, he recognised that I had some talent but wouldn’t get the opportunities if I remained at home.

Only for him coming to my aid and putting in the call to Darren, I wouldn’t find myself in the position I do today. He is yet another that I have a great deal to be thankful to.

Old Trafford

I often describe my first day in Philip Hobbs yard as being akin to a young lad walking into Old Trafford. Richard Johnson, Tom O’Brien and Rhys Flint were faces I recognised, while on the equine front, the names Menorah, Captain Chris and Wishful Thinking stood out.

Aside from those three established jockeys, there were an additional four conditionals and five amateurs attached to the stable. No one knew me at the time, so I basically had to start from scratch and work my way up.

It was January 2011 before I had my first ride in a point-to-point but after partnering 16 winners over the following five months, I ended up being crowned National Novice Champion in the UK that year. In 2011/12, I rode two winners under rules, my first since arriving in Britain.

The following season, I turned conditional, rode 36 winners and finished runner-up to Lucy Alexander (38) in the conditional jockeys’ championship. Having only ridden three winners in three years back home, I was finally on my way with a significantly higher strike rate in Britain.

In demand

Given my experience in point-to-points and success in the amateur ranks, I found myself in more demand. In April 2012, I rode Grand Jesture to win a bumper at the Punchestown Festival, while in July, I rode a Galway winner on Venture Lazarus.

However, as is often the case in this sport, just when my career was on the up, I suffered a series of injuries that stalled my momentum, setting me on the back foot. I had struck up a successful partnership with the Richard Lee- trained Mountainous in early 2012/13, winning on two occasions.

Unfortunately for me, I broke my collarbone three days before that horse won the Welsh Grand National in December.

I have been riding as second jockey to Philip Hobbs since Richard Johnson retired and Tom O’Brien stepped into the main role.

In 2021, Séamus Mullins offered me the opportunity to ride all of his horses, if and when I am not required by Philip. Obviously with Richard and Tom ahead of me in the pecking order, opportunities were limited in recent years but I have always felt a valued member of the team.

Tom and myself have always been close; he lived less than 20 minutes from me back home and since I arrived in Britain, he has always been there for me. I was genuinely gutted when Tom got injured, as I know more than most, what that means.

Up to the task

However, it was great to get the call up on Thyme Hill, as it showed that both the boss and owners had faith in me and felt that I was up to the task.

The fact that I get to ride a fancied runner in such a high-profile race will hopefully help establish me as a Grade 1 jockey.

It is only by riding in such races that other trainers will begin to view you as such.

My family and friends are really excited at the prospect and many of them have already booked their tickets to travel over.

Aside from a festival win on Thyme Hill, my other main ambition in the short-term would be to ride my 200th winner. I am only a few short of that figure right now, so reaching that milestone would be significant.

Micheal Nolan was in conversation with John O’Riordan