Ballydoyle Jockey Profiles
As from april 2011
Seamus Heffernan has been an integral part of the Aidan O’Brien stable for well over a decade and has shared in some of the many big-race successes in the Ballydoyle operation. Many stable jockeys have come and gone over the years, but Heffernan has remained as one of the few constants in the operation.
Early Days
Apprenticed to Jim Bolger in the early part of his career, Seamus showed steady improvement year after year and eventually became joint-champion apprentice with Daragh O’Donoghue in 1994. Runner-up to Pat Smullen the following season, Seamus enjoyed some good victories for Jim Bolger in the early-1990’s and his strength in a finish was just one characteristic of his riding that helped him to get established. Most of his notable wins in the early part of his career were for Jim Bolger, with him landing the Birdcatcher Nursery at Naas on Zavaleta in 1993, the Silver Stakes at the Curragh on Ballykett Nancy in 1994, the Golden Pages Handicap at Leopardstown on Royal Vision in 1994, the Joe McGrath Handicap at Leopardstown on Ailleacht in 1995 and the Coolmore Concorde Stakes at Tipperary later that season on Wild Bluebell.
Aidan O’Brien Beckons
Heffernan became attached to Aidan O’Brien’s yard in 1996 and immediately made his mark when partnering Proud Titania to win the Athasi Stakes at the Curragh in April. With Christy Roche as first jockey for the stable, Seamus learned a lot off this seven-time Irish Champion Jockey and with the stable concentrating more on the Flat horses around this time, it was no surprise to see Seamus falling in for some quality mounts in the better class races. He finished off 1996 with another couple of Group race wins to his credit, partnering Air Of Distinction to take the Anglesey Stakes at the Curragh and Shell Ginger to win the Killavullan Stakes at Leopardstown.
As a fully-fledged jockey, Seamus was in constant demand with other trainers and he formed a particularly good relationship with the Pat Flynn-trained French Ballerina. This high-class mare landed the Savel Beg Stakes in 1997 and 1998 with Seamus on board and also won the Supreme Novices Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival with Graham Bradley doing the steering. Sadly, French Ballerina had to be put down after sustaining a serious injury in the 1998 Ascot Gold Cup and for her rider, this was a particularly big blow as she had helped to raise his profile considerably.
Group 1 Glory
In the late-1990’s, the Group and Listed race winners continued to mount up for Seamus with Photogenic winning the Debutante Stakes at Leopardstown, Kincara Palace taking the Killavullan Stakes and Risk Material winning the Waterford Testimonial Stakes. He also rode Urban Ocean to win the Gallinule Stakes in 1999 and it was the following year that he managed to strike at Group 1 level for the first time. As usual, O’Brien saddled several runners in the National Stakes at the Curragh and Seamus was nominated to ride Beckett. Generally considered to be inferior to his better-fancied stable companion, Darwin, Heffernan’s mount confounded that belief with a convincing three lengths victory.
Classic Success
Better was to follow for Heffernan in 2001 as he rode his first Classic winner when guiding Imagine to victory in the Irish 1,000 Guineas at the Curragh with stable jockey Michael Kinane again choosing the wrong one as he rode Toroca into third place. This was a very popular result among the racing professionals and his fellow jockeys and no-one could begrudge this hard working and dedicated rider his moment of glory. The Derrinstown Derby Trial at Leopardstown is another race which Seamus has managed to win on four top-class horses in recent years, namely Galileo, High Chaparral, Dylan Thomas and Fame And Glory.
In the seasons that followed, more and more big races were claimed by Seamus and while the majority of those victories were for the O’Brien stable, he has also notched up some notable victories for other trainers including the Phoenix Sprint Stakes on the Joanna Morgan-trained One Won One and the Victor McCalmont Stakes at Gowran Park on the Irene Oakes-trained Fionns Folly in 2002. 2004 saw him partner Oratorio to victory in the Anglesey Stakes as well as riding Lucky to success in the Athasi Stakes. In 2005 he won the Ruby Stakes at Tralee on the Tom Hogan-trained Common World, as well as the Beresford Stakes on Septimus and the Heritage Stakes on Solskjaer, both for Aidan O’Brien. While in 2006, he landed both of the 1,000 Guineas Trials at Leopardstown on the Aidan O’Brien-trained pair Kamarinskaya and Queen Cleopatra. He also won the Ballycullen Stakes on Tusculum as well as the Renaissance Stakes on Beauty Bright.
A Year To Remember
2007 was a particularly lucrative season for Heffernan as Kieren Fallon’s drug ban, which resulted in him being absent from the racecourse until mid-June, meant that Heffernan was riding as the stable jockey to Ballydoyle in Ireland up until that point and he capitalised fully on the situation, riding a multitude of pattern race winners with notable highlights coming on Dylan Thomas in the Alleged Stakes, Yeats in the Saval Beg Stakes and the Vintage Crop Stakes, Alexander Of Hales in the Gallinule Stakes and You’resothrilling in the Swordlestown Stud Sprint Stakes. With Fallon back in the fold, many thought that Heffernan may not get the same sort of opportunities that he got in the first half of the season, Heffernan confounded those doubters by having arguably the best day of his career on the 1st July 2007. He opened his account on the day by giving Lizard Island a tremendous front-running ride to win the Railway Stakes before going on to claim a second Classic success on Soldier Of Fortune in the Irish Derby, who quickened right away to win by no less than nine lengths. He wrapped up what was his best-ever season with yet another big-race success on the O’Brien-trained Jupiter Pluvius in the Killavullan Stakes at Leopardstown.
As remarkable a season as 2007 was for Heffernan, he has arguably managed to better it in 2008. During the course of the season he won no less than three Classics, namely the Irish 1000 Guineas on Halfway To Heaven, the Irish Derby on Frozen Fire and the Irish St Leger on Septimus. This was a truly remarkable achievement for a “second-string” jockey and one that gained him worldwide attention. If that wasn’t enough, he added another Group 1 win to his tally when claiming the Moyglare Stud Stakes on the David Wachman-trained Again. Away from the highest level, he gained other notable wins on the Francis Crowley-trained Cheyenne Star in the Brownstown Stakes at Leopardstown and in the C.L. Weld Park Stakes on the David Wachman-trained Chintz at the Curragh.
Down From The Clouds
Having enjoyed two remarkable seasons in succession, Heffernan returned to the ranks of mere mortal in 2009, for all that he still enjoyed a highly-successful campaign by normal standards. Perhaps the highlights of his season came when winning the Derrinstown Derby Trial at Leopardstown for the fourth time on Fame And Glory and later in the season he won the Eyrefield Stakes on Mikhail Glinka. However, the first-named colt came close to giving Heffernan arguably the biggest success of his career, as he found only the incomparable Sea The Stars too good for him in the Epsom Derby.
Back To His Best
2010 saw Heffernan bounce right back to form. He managed to ride the runner-up in the Epsom Derby for the second year in succession, this time on the unconsidered pace maker At First Sight. Given a well-judged ride by Heffernan, the son of Galileo slipped the field around Tattenham Corner and for a few strides it looked like he had built an unassailable lead. Alas, Workforce swopped in the closing stages and denied Heffernan a memorable win. The following month, he rode the subsequent Group 1 winner Zoffany to success in the Golden Fleece Stakes at Leopardstown and the month after that, he won the Ruby Stakes at Killarney on Steinbeck. However, the best was still very much to come for Heffernan. Riding Misty For Me in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh, the daughter of Galileo answered all of Heffernan’s urgings and ground out a game length success. Remarkably, less than a week later, Heffernan managed to better that win. Riding the O’Brien-trained Cape Blanco in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, Heffernan led his rivals a merry dance from the front and his mount positively bolted up by 5½ lengths, giving Heffernan his first win in what is arguably Ireland’s top race.
Seamie Heffernan is without doubt riding better than ever, as well as getting better opportunities than ever and he is sure to remain on the Group 1 landscape for many seasons to come.
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Colm O’Donoghue has been an integral part of the highly-successful Aidan O’Brien stable for the over a decade. In fact, for much of the 2010 season he was second only to Johnny Murtagh on the big-race team in what is one of the world’s most successful training operations and as a result, he has picked up numerous big-race wins
Early Days
Colm rode his first winner on the Aidan O’Brien-trained My Lorraine at Sligo on June 24th 1997 and less than a week later partnered Theano to a surprise win in the valuable John Roary Memorial Scurry Handicap at the Curragh on Derby Day, one of the most competitive handicaps of the entire season. Colm ended that season with five winners to his credit and repeated that total in 1998, with his victory on Coconut Creek in the Joe McGrath Handicap at Leopardstown being the highlight of the quintet.
Although he had to wait until June of 1999 to get off the mark for that particular season, another victory in the John Roarty Memorial Scurry Handicap on the O’Brien-trained Oyster Catcher helped to raise his profile and Colm found himself getting plenty of outside rides around this time. Trainers like Frances Crowley, John Bowles and Liam McAteer began to use him on a regular basis and in October 1999, he partnered Zelden to a narrow success in the Derrinstown Stud Apprentice Handicap Final at the Curragh, one of thirteen victories he amassed that year.
Climbing The Ladder
Riding work on a regular basis with the likes of Michael Kinane and Seamie Heffernan was obviously a big help to Colm and another 13 winners were notched up in the year 2000, but the following season proved to be the one where he really made his mark. He partnered several big-race winners with the O’Brien-trained El Bueno winning the Glanbia Classic Trial at Gowran Park, while Lahinch gave him victory in the Entrepreneur Stakes at Tipperary for the Ballydoyle team. Later in the season, Colm won the fiercely competitive McDonogh Handicap at the Galway Festival on the Paul Roche-trained Sheer Tenby, while he also rode the likes of the talented Hawkeye to success in a conditions race at the Curragh. That 2001 season saw him finish as runner up to Tadhg O’Shea in the Apprentice Jockey’s Championship with 23 winners and he was only claiming a 3 lb allowance at this stage of his career.
Group 1 Success
When Aidan O’Brien has multiple runners in Group 1 races, Colm would often partner one of the outsiders of the team and his mounts were regularly used as pacemakers which is a very important task in itself. In the Independent Waterford Wedgwood Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh in 2002, O’Donoghue was on the outsider of the stable’s four runners, but on the soft going, his mount Spartacus relished the conditions and just held on in a driving finish to score at odds of 20/1. As Colm was still a claiming apprentice at this time, it was a highly-significant success and it was without doubt the biggest success of his career at that point. Later that season, Colm rode the Jim Bolger-trained Shizao to a fine win in the Listed Danehill Dancer Tipperary Stakes and then recorded a double at Cork just two weeks later.
Consolidation
In 2003, Colm had the distinction of partnering Aidan O’Brien’s 150/1 outsider, Roosevelt, to finish a fine third to Alamshar and Dalakhani in the Budweiser Irish Derby at the Curragh, one of six runners for the stable in the race that particular year. He also won the Derrinstown Stud Apprentice Final at the Curragh on the Willie Browne-trained Premier View and the EBF Fillies Handicap at the Galway Festival on the Kevin O’Brien-trained Mwaley. Colm lost his claim in July 2004, but he was still very much in demand with a large variety of trainers. One of his more notable successes that season came on board the Peter Casey-trained Fearn Royal in the Knockaire Stakes at Leopardstown, while he notched up another Listed race success on Aidan O’Brien’s Mikado in the Diamond Stakes at the Curragh.
In the 2005 season, he went one place closer in the Irish Derby and indeed, looked likely to pull off a major upset for much of the straight in the race, kicking clear on the O’Brien-trained Scorpion and only just being collared by Hurricane Run close home. He recorded a notable success in Great Britain when guiding the O’Brien-trained Hurricane Cat to take the Horris Hill Stakes at Newbury, one of 16 winners he partnered and a total that was good enough to see him finish in the top fifteen in the Irish Jockeys’ Flat Championship.
The 2006 season was another solid campaign for O’Donoghue, with notable successes coming in the Classic Trial at Gowran Park on the O’Brien-trained Poseidon Adventure, while he landed the Eyrefield Stakes at Leopardstown on Anton Chekhov. While that campaign lacked a really big success, the following season proved more than worth the wait for the loyal jockey.
Classic Glory
The 2007 season began in tremendous fashion for O’Donoghue, as he gained his first Classic success on the O’Brien-trained Astronomer Royal in the French 2000 Guineas. That win was no more than he deserved for a decade of service to the Ballydoyle operation, and that season would bring further success for him. In September, Ken Condon provided him with two notable winners, namely in the Group 3 Round Tower Stakes at the Curragh on Norman Invader and in the Goffs Autumn Bonus Race at Listowel on Lilleshall. In between those two wins, he rode the O’Brien-trained Red Rock Canyon to finish third in the Irish Champion Stakes.
2008 was another solid year for O’Donoghue, with him gaining a number of Group race successes. The first of those wins came on his old friend, Astronomer Royal, in the Group 3 Greenlands Stakes at the Curragh and a few weeks later he gained a somewhat surprising success of the O’Brien-trained Ice Queen in the Group 3 Noblesse Stakes at Cork. He wrapped up the season by riding The Bogberry to win the Kilternan Stakes at Leopardstown in September.
A Career-Best Season
From somewhat out of the blue, 2009 would prove to be the best season of O’Donoghue’s career, with him gaining big-race successes at both sides of the Irish Sea. He began his run of success in the Derby Trials in England, winning the Chester Vase on Golden Sword and the Dante Stakes on Black Bear Island. His run of form continued into the summer months, with him riding Changingoftheguard to success in the Ulster Derby at Down Royal before gaining his biggest domestic win of the season on Tamarind in the Group 3 Give Thanks Stakes at Cork in August. He finished the campaign with a flurry too, winning the valuable Portland Handicap at Doncaster on the David Marnane-trained Santo Padre before winning the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes at Ascot on the O’Brien-trained Joshua Tree. All told, he rode 30 winners and amassed well over €1m in prize money during the course of the year.
At The Top Of His Game
With him now established as one of the most reliable jockeys in the weighing room, O’Donoghue enjoyed another lucrative season in 2010. In particular, his continued partnership with the fast-rising trainer David Marnane has proven to be very successful, with the pair combining with Bangalore Gold to win a premier handicap at the Curragh and then with Dandy Boy to win the lucrative Victoria Cup at Ascot, as well as many other lesser winners. While he failed to win a Listed or Group race in Ireland for Aidan O’Brien, he was entrusted with the ride on Joshua Tree in the Grade 1 Canadian International in October and he proved more than equal to the task, giving his mount an excellent ride to narrowly prevail in a rough race.
That win came just prior to Johnny Murtagh announcing that he would not be retained by the Coolmore partnership in 2011 and it acted as a timely message from O’Donoghue to his bosses that he is more than capable of getting the job done on the international stage. With no replacement rider having been announced by Coolmore, it would be no surprise to see O’Donoghue being given plenty of big opportunities in 2011.
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Joseph O'Brien Being the first son of the legendary trainer Aidan O’Brien and one-time Champion Trainer over jumps Anne Marie O’Brien, Joseph O’Brien was certainly bred for success in the racing industry. From when he was a young boy, he could often be seen helping his father saddle up horses on the racecourse and as time progressed, he was noted performing very well in the world of eventing. Indeed, in August 2009, he won a bronze individual eventing medal at the European Pony Championships in Moorsele, Belgium. By that time, he had already begun to ride as an apprentice jockey and there was never any doubt as to which discipline he would end up devoting all his time to.
Early Successes
Joseph took his first ride on the racecourse at the age of just 16 on May 24th 2009 on his father’s Coat Of Arms at the Curragh and while he had no joy on that occasion, he opened his account just four days later when riding Johann Zoffany to win a handicap at Leopardstown. He was soon in demand from many outside trainers and had a notable experience when riding Johann Zoffany at Royal Ascot the following month. The winners continued to flow for all manner of trainers in the months that followed, with him receiving universal acclaim for the standard of his riding. Now being firmly a part of his father’s riding team, Joseph got some wonderful opportunities to ride in big races on his father’s less fancied runners, with his outing in the Irish Derby on Byzantine being particularly notable. However, such a mount almost gave him what would have been one of the most spectacular first-season winners in recent history, with him riding Air Chief Marshal to finish a close second to his stable mate Alfred Nobel in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh in late-July. Joseph continued to progress and improve as the season went on and by its conclusion, he had ridden a very respectable eight winners from 162 rides.
Second Season Success
With study for his upcoming leaving certificate taking centre stage, O’Brien took a couple of months to get back into the swing on things in 2010, riding just a handful of winners up until his exams finished in June, but it wasn’t long after that that he really began to hit full stride. Riding for a wide variety of trainers, O’Brien impressed in winning races on the Pat Flynn-trained Connyella and the Pat O’Donnell-trained Luttrell Lady. Those successes set him up for what would prove to be a memorable Galway Festival. Riding his father’s Robin Hood in a juvenile maiden on the opening day of the meeting, O’Brien executed a well-judged front-running ride to take the spoils, but even better would be forthcoming in the days ahead. On the Wednesday of the meeting, Joseph rode the Eoin Griffin-trained Dusty Trail to win a 12f handicap and while he finished second on the Pat O’Donnell-trained Luttrell Lady in the extended 8f handicap, he got the race in the steward’s room (subsequently changed again on appeal). The following day saw his week get even better, with him riding the Charlie Swan-trained Rajik to a lucrative success in the valuable Guinness Handicap. To ride four winners at such a high-profile meeting did Joseph no harm at all and he has continued his momentum into August, completing a notable double for his father at Leopardstown which included his first win at Group level on Beethoven in the Group 3 Desmond Stakes. Not long after that brace, it soon became clear that O’Brien could well make an unlikely bid for the title of Champion Apprentice despite giving up a big start to Ben Curtis and Gary Carroll.
A Championship Bid
Those wins began what was a remarkable run of success for O’Brien, with him riding a total of no less than 18 winners in the two months that followed, including a treble at Navan in early-October. Unfortunately, he picked up a number of bans during that time, resulting in him missing a month of action not long after that treble. When he eventually returned to action, he was three winners behind Ben Curtis and two winners behind Gary Carroll, but he still strongly fancied to make up that deficit in the remaining five meetings of the season. O’Brien rode a double on his return to action at Dundalk, but not only did he pick up a two-day ban on one of those winners (subsequently reduced to one day on appeal), his two rivals also rode a winner. This was generally considered a hammer blow to O’Brien’s prospects, but he rallied to ride a double on each of the final two cards of the season, drawing level with both Curtis and Carroll with one race of the season remaining. While Carroll looked set to steal the championship in the very last race, his mount was mugged close home, resulting in a three-way tie for the title of Champion Apprentice in a battle that had enthralled the racing public. Considering O’Brien’s slow start to the campaign and substantial ban in October/November, he did remarkably well to share the title.
Joseph O’Brien is improving all the time and while his weight is likely to prove to be a barrier to his long-term future in the saddle, his future almost certainly lies in a career in training and with his pedigree, he can be fully expected to be successful in that discipline too.
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Coolmore Stud Home of Champions Concorde Stakes – 2008 – Psalm
Nolan & Brophy Auctioneers Silver Stakes – 2008 – Hindu Kush
Sean Levey, apprentice rider for Ballydoyle, arrived in Ireland at the age of 13 with his parents and younger brother, Declan. His father, Mickey, was an Englishman who rode professionally in Britain before heading off to travel the world. He ended up landing in Swaziland where he met his wife, Tini, had his two sons, and set up the country’s first racecourse.
In 2001, the Levey family decided to move to Ireland, and although Co. Tipperary was a long way from South Africa, they settled in right away and Mickey took up a job as an exercise rider for Ballydoyle. The boys got their foot in the door of Irish racing when they proved successful in the pony racing ranks; under the guidance of Tony Beegan in Ballinrobe Declan finished Irish junior pony racing champion and Sean was runner-up in the senior division.
Three short years later, in April 2005, Sean was fresh out of pony racing when he was legged up on South Wind Rising at the Curragh; it was his first ride as apprentice for Ballydoyle. In that same year, Sean rode his first winner on Beauty Bright at Cork after Kieran Fallon got sick on the day and handed over the mount. He had ridden Beauty Bright as a yearling and knew her well, also caring for her during evening stables and taking her racing (as a stable lad) in the afternoons he was not on board. In 2006 Sean was given back the mount on Beauty Bright in the Boylesports Irish 1,000 Guineas, she did not stay the trip, but a valuable experience, as it was his first Group One.
In 2006 and 2007 Sean continued his success, racking up 12 wins, three of which were on Paris Sue, trained by Marcus Callaghan. In 2008 he rode nine winners; amongst those was a horse named Malibu Bay, who Sean rode as a yearling and has seen progress through his career at Ballydoyle. Race riding in the afternoons is only one aspect of Sean’s daily life. In the mornings he is busy riding out at Ballydoyle and working with many of the up-and-coming Coolmore yearlings and two-year-olds; allowing Sean to learn the horses inside and out. When he is not riding races, Sean is back at the stables in the evenings, rounding up the day with the rest of the crew.
Sean is very content with the way things have panned out, and at this point he simply continues to work hard, learn and wait patiently to see how things fall into place in the future.
Horse you would most like to ride
The way things are going this year, Freemantle.
Mentor
Too many to name, I take little bits from a lot of people.
Biggest ambition
Start by winning any Group One, and then go from there.
Favourite movie
Chopper
Favourite racecourse
The Curragh, where all the Classics happen. I rode one of my big winners there – Hindu Kush in 2008. I enjoy the flat race meetings at Leopardstown too.
What do you do to relax
Sleep
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