Thomas Reilly

I’m from Stamullen in Co Meath and I work in John McConnell’s yard which is only a few minutes down the road. I’ve been there 12 years and am part of the furniture at this stage.

It’s a brilliant yard to be a part of and I’ve seen it expand over the years with the quality of horses being trained there getting better all the time. The age profile of the staff is one of the youngest in the country but, for their age, they have a lot of experience and everyone works really hard. I’d say myself and John haven’t had a cross word in all the time I’ve been there. Maybe that’s because both of us are easy-going but we want everything done right at the same time. The likes of Siobhan Rutledge and the Harvey brothers do great work there and I also get on well with Simon Torrens and Brian Hayes who come in to ride out and school there on a regular basis.

We had the lows and highs during Cheltenham this year with Mahler Mission’s fall on the Tuesday which left us all deflated followed by Seddon’s win on the Thursday. I wasn’t at Cheltenham because the same day that Seddon won we had eight runners at Dundalk, so it was all hands on deck there, but we gave him a great roar home and it was a brilliant day for the stable.

Be it a mediocre race or something at one of the big festivals, John is very shrewd and will have the horse ready for the day. I’m in John’s six mornings a week and I generally ride six or seven lots each morning and then in the afternoons I ride work for some of the other trainers in the area like Francis Casey, Peter Cluskey and Tom McCourt. I started off with Tom when I was about 12 and did a summer with him. After that, whenever I had any time off from school, I would head straight down to Tom’s as quickly as I could.

There was a big field behind our house in Stamullen and the man who owned it would let us gallop ponies around there so that’s how I started off under the guidance of my father and my sister. I didn’t go to any riding schools, I’m self-taught. The first pony I rode was a monkey and the amount of falls I got off him was something else but I learned a lot from him all the same.

I did plenty of point-to-pointing and my first winner was for Tom McCourt. There was a bit of a gap then until my first winner on the track which was a horse of John’s called Fourknocks at Downpatrick in 2016. When the point-to-points were cancelled and amateurs weren’t allowed to ride under rules either during the early stages of Covid, I had a decision to make. My weight was good and I decided to bite the bullet and turn conditional. I’m glad I did because things have gone well and I’ve had my fair share of winners.

In the first three weeks of last season I had three winners, including two at Downpatrick which is a lucky track for me.One of them was for Liam Lennon on School Lane which I was particularly pleased about because I’ve ridden for Liam for 10 years and anything he has, he lets me ride it. When he brings his horses down to Colin and Jessica Magnier’s place in Skryne, I meet up with him there to school a few for him. I had another Downpatrick winner last autumn on Hereditary Rule who was well handicapped over hurdles and he went on to win a big pot over fences at the Punchestown festival. And my first winner under rules for Tom McCourt was on Tick Along at Downpatrick in May. I joked to someone that it’s the only place I can ride winners, but thankfully that’s not really true!

John McConnell has been very good to me and given me plenty of opportunities and I get a great kick out of riding winners and try to make the most of my chances. I have Ken Whelan as my agent and Ken has been there and done it and is very straight with me. It’s great to have him on my side.

I enjoy my trips over to Britain to the likes of Perth and Cartmel and sometimes I might drive the box over for John if he has runners. I have an association with a trainer over there called Katie Scott and the McLeod family who have horses with her and they put me up on their horses.

My sister Tracey used to work for Peter Cluskey and trains a few horses herself. I help her out and we have a horse called Falak that has been a decent performer over the years and he ran really well for us in Down Royal last month.

I’m mad into my GAA, both football and hurling, and play for St Patrick’s Stamullen. We’ve had a good bit of success in the junior hurling championship over the last few years. I love it and it’s a great way of keeping fit as well.

My partner Amy O’Gara is from Dublin and we have a little fella called Oran who’s two. Amy got a Dubs jersey for him but he’s definitely a Meath man!

I’ve only ever worked with horses and I absolutely love it. It’s not a job as such, it’s more like I’m making a living from following my hobby and doing what I enjoy. Touch wood I’ve been fortunate enough with regard to injuries so hopefully I can keep race-riding for as long as possible and continue to enjoy the game.

About Mark Nunan

Mark has followed racing since he was a teenager and worked for many years as a broadcaster with the Irish version of Racecall. He joined the Press Association in 2019 and is also a contributor to the Racing Post. A native of Kildare, he now lives in Sligo.

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