WHILE I trained a listed winner on the flat at Warrnambool in May, sending out my first jumps winner in Australia last month was also pretty special. Point Nepean looked potentially smart when successful on his hurdling debut, so hopefully there is plenty to look forward to over the coming months. With a couple of close friends from Ireland very much involved on the day, it was a memorable win.   

I am from Rathangan in Wicklow. My dad always had a few hunters and ponies around the place, so that’s kind of how I got started. I would have done pony club and things like that. Dad got me a summer job mucking out and riding out for Francis Flood when I was in secondary school. I would have been in there every chance that I got. I applied for my amateur licence when I was 15, although obviously I couldn’t get it for another year.

When I eventually got the licence, I had a few rides while still in school but I stayed on to do my Leaving Certificate. At least with that under my belt, I had the backup of college if being a jockey didn’t work out. 

School’s out

After school, I worked for Francis Flood full-time as an amateur. I rode a few winners, both on the track and in point-to-points. I then went down to Philip Rothwell, where I turned conditional. In my first season, I rode 10 or 12 winners under rules. The following year, I was champion conditional jockey in Ireland, riding 27 or 28 winners.

It all kicked off quite quickly after I turned (conditional); I rode a few winners in England and had rides at the Cheltenham Festival. As part of the prize for winning the championship, I was selected on the Irish team for the Ireland v Australia Jockey Challenge in 2008. Alain Cawley and myself were joined by Katie Walsh and Nina Carberry. It was an incredible experience and we all rode a winner or two over there. I kept in touch with a few lads that I met on that trip but I never dreamed that one day I would be back. 

Making it pay

I continued to go okay for a time after coming home but then a combination of riding out my claim and the onset of a recession, saw the winners dry up. I still had plenty of rides but without the winners, I just wasn’t making it pay. My wife Lauren and I had a son, Joe, who was just a year old at the time.

Having sat down and talked it through together, we decided to give Australia a go. Like everyone else, it was basically for a year or two, just to see how we liked it; that was over 12 years ago now. Tom Ryan and Johnny Allen went over the previous year, so at least they were two familiar faces.

It was encouraging for me to see that both of them had done very well since arriving in Australia. After I rode my first couple of winners, things started to take off again. While I rode plenty of winners throughout my riding career over here, funnily enough, my last two seasons were my best. I was champion jockey in both those years, winning the Tommy Corrigan medal in the process. 

Bucket list

Although I had won most of the big races over the years, the Grand Annual at the May Carnival here in Warrnambool was one I wanted to tick off. It was the one I really wanted to win. Having finally won that race on Ablaze in 2020, I felt that the time was right to retire from race-riding. I wanted to go out at the top on my own terms, rather than carry on another couple of years and gradually deteriorate.

During the last few years of my riding career, I had been assistant trainer to Lindsey Smith. After retiring, I took out my own license two years ago but have also continued in my role with Lindsey. I enjoyed my biggest success to date when Mystery Island won the Listed Warrnambool Cup in May.

That horse has been a three-time winner for me. I only have four in training at the moment so I’m happy to keep tipping away. Australia is a great country for lads that work hard. If you put in the hours over here, you will do well. While Tom and Johnny paved the way, lads like Declan Bates and Tom ‘Socks’ Madden have been more recent arrivals.

Crossroads

Declan was at something of a crossroads in his career back home when he came out here for our wedding in 2014. I spoke to him about giving it a go in Australia and he decided to make the move. He has really flown since he came over; including winning Group 1 races on the flat. ‘Socks’ was at a similar point at home, with the winners not as frequent after he rode out his claim. I’d be good friends with his brother ‘Slippers’, so when he rang me asking for advice, I said to get him over. That was almost a year and a half ago now. ‘Socks’ has done really well in recent times, riding plenty of nice winners as people over here start to take notice.

He was suspended on the day that Point Nepean won at Pakenham, so he came to the races and actually led up the horse for us. My wife Lauren had Point Nepean expertly plaited and turned out, so it was a real team effort. With Tom Ryan riding the horse, it was just like being back at home! If all of that wasn’t enough, Point Nepean had even started his racing career in Ireland with Joseph O’Brien.  

Shane Jackson was in conversation with John O’Riordan.