Oisin McSweeney© Photo Healy Racing
I’m 22 and from Athgarvan on the Curragh. I didn’t start riding until I was 16 and didn’t do pony racing or go to an apprentice school so I’ve had a bit of catching up to do with some of my contemporaries but I’ve worked hard and been very keen to learn wherever I’ve gone.
After spending time with local trainers Dick Brabazon, Dermot Weld and Adrian Keatley, I did a winter in Florida with Ian Brennan at Stonestreet Farm which is a very prestigious pre-training facility in Ocala. I learned a lot about judgement of pace there and riding to the clock and that has stood me in good stead. At the moment my boss Danny Murphy has a lot of sprinters who like to race on the front end and we’re enjoying a good run of success at Dundalk.
When I came back from America I decided to try Britain and Kevin Ryan took me on. I was mostly in action at a lot of the tracks on the northern circuit as well as having some rides down south. I had good support from Kevin and Richard Fahey and a wide variety of trainers used me with Niall Hannitty acting as my agent. I rode the best part of 50 winners in my two years in Britain. I had to grow up fast but I was able to manage my lifestyle and diet quite well and there was a good network of Irish people where I was based and they were always looking out for me.
I never fully settled in England, all the same, and the plan was always to come home, which I did in January this year. I teamed up with Danny Murphy who was with Kieran Cotter at the time and is now based with the licence in his own name at Rossmore Cottage Stables on the Curragh.
I always knew that it would take a while for things to get going when I returned to Ireland because there’s less racing here, but I was conscious that I still had a good few winners left with my 5lb claim so it was the right time to give it a go. It took a while to get going during the summer and I had two concussions so missed a little bit of time. I hurt my arm in one of those falls and got back to full fitness with an exercise routine from physiotherapist Chloe Gallagher, so I’d like to acknowledge her help. Thankfully I’ve got on a bit of a roll lately at Dundalk and I’m going to give it everything this winter. I feel this is my best chance to establish
myself in Ireland. Conor O’Dwyer is my agent and he’s a gentleman to deal with and thankfully I’m starting to get more rides and more opportunities for outside yards.
When I’m riding Danny’s horses I know them like the back of my hand but on outside rides I look back at their replays to get an idea of the type of horse I’m riding. It’s good to have that bit of background information on them when you’re discussing tactics with the trainer. Mullacash Buzz, for Tom Dowling, was a case in point this week. I hadn’t ridden him before but did my homework and managed to make all over seven on my own terms and save enough to hold on by a short head.
Moral Turpitude and Oisin winning at Dundalk in November© Photo Healy Racing
I’m in Danny’s six mornings a week and ride out for other trainers if someone needs me. It’s nice to be back living at home and my weight is good and steady at the moment, I can claim my five off 8st12lbs. Danny has trained all over the world and has a wealth of experience. Every morning I go into work I know I’m going to learn something from him and he sits down and goes through the replays of my rides with me as well and points out various things. Because of his work in Asia, he’s really big on stalls work and getting away quickly. He says that in Asia, if you miss the start it’s game over, you can kiss the race goodbye, so he has that drilled into me and we focus on doing a lot of stalls work at home.
We have plenty of five furlong/six furlong horses in the yard and, although it depends on the individual, he generally likes them ridden forward and those tactics seem to be working well for us in recent weeks. We have some nice two-year-olds to run over the winter but there’s not a whole pile of races over sprint trips at Dundalk so sometimes you have to bide your time and wait for a suitable opportunity. When I was in Britain, the trainers I rode for also had a lot of sprinters so I’m well used to riding that type of horse, but I've had my share of winners over longer trips as well where I've had to take my time.
Dun Na Sead has been a star horse for me this year. She was my first winner in Ireland when winning at Dundalk in February and I’ve won three more on her since, including a Group 3 back at Dundalk last month. Even though she had a lot to find on ratings, we were quietly confident of a big run in that Mercury Stakes. It’s hard to get real fast ground in Ireland so the Polytrack gives her the chance to showcase her talent. She’s got serious gate speed and she’s really quickly into her stride as well as having a high cruising speed. She’s on a break at the moment and hopefully there will be more good days ahead for her. The Kildare Racing Club own her and have been very good to me, particularly when I couldn’t utilise my claim the last day because it was a Group contest.
In my spare time I enjoy a round of golf. I play off eight and it’s great to be able to play at my local course at the Curragh.
I’m very appreciative of the trust that Danny Murphy and his owners have put in me and it’s nice to be able to repay that by getting the job done for them on the racecourse. Hopefully the winter will continue to go well.
Oisin was in conversation with Mark Nunan
