Tom Harney © Photo Healy Racing
I'm from a place called Eadestown, just outside Naas, beside Punchestown racecourse. I had a pony when I was younger at home and I was kind of mad for a bit of speed! I got into Michael Halford's when I was 12 or 13. I rode out there on my school holidays and weekends for five years before I left school. There were some brilliant lads in Michael Halford's at the time like Sean Corby, who rode as an apprentice for a while, Shane Foley was stable jockey and Conor Hoban was apprentice there. You can see from Michael Halford's track record, he had some brilliant apprentices over the years including Gary Carroll. It was a great place to learn and I learned plenty. I was still very weak and green and I wasn't quite sure whether I was going to be good enough to be a jockey but, in fairness, it was the route for me. I had a crack at college in Carlow, but I didn't enjoy that - I only lasted about three weeks! I missed the horses a lot.
When I left college, I contacted Ross O'Sullivan looking for a job. At that time, he had 10-15 horses and said he didn't have an opportunity or an opening there at the time. He contacted Jackie Mullins, Willie's wife, and got me down there. I was very lucky to work down there in Closutton for 15 months or so. Willie is breaking all limits at the minute and he always did. I rode out four lots every morning and I got to ride plenty of work. You learn a lot about how he trains his horses and you are riding out with the likes of Ruby Walsh, David Casey, Patrick Mullins, David and Danny Mullins. There's unbelievable riders down there and you couldn't learn enough off them really.
It is such a big yard and the profile of horses is so good that I suppose an opportunity for a young lad who wanted to get going around racing wasn't really there. I was so glad to be there and got to ride some brilliant horses, but an opportunity came to go back to Ross O'Sullivan's to get a chance to ride in some point-to-points and get a bit of experience racing. Katie Walsh, Ross' wife, used to ride work down there (Closutton) once or twice a week and said to me that Ross was building a new facility. He was going to expand on numbers and staff and she asked if I be interested in coming as there could be opportunities in point-to-points. I grabbed at that and it worked out too as it is only seven or eight minutes from my own house. I have been here six and a-half years now and it has been great.
I rode seven point-to-point winners. It took me a while to get going and to kind of get outside rides, but I was very lucky that Ross let me ride a few older horses to get me a bit of experience on them. Then, after two years of getting experience, I was allowed to ride all the point-to-pointers in the yard here and I was lucky to ride some nice winners for some good owners in the yard. I got my first track winner on State Of Fame in a bumper at Sligo in July 2021. We went to Sligo that day and it was a cracking day with the sun bouncing and we thought he would love the ground. All of a sudden, the heavens opened and the ground went to yielding, soft in places quite quickly. The owner, Amanda Torrens, was a little bit worried that he might not get through the ground, but we were quite confident that he was hardy enough to get through it. We took the chance and I rode him quite wide to find the best of the ground and he picked up and won well. To beat Patrick Mullins (on third-placed Aslukwoodhavit) on your first winner on the track, I won't forget it!
It gave my confidence a boost and I was so lucky that year that a couple of the owners in the yard let me ride more bumper horses, and I got a nice few winners that season. I was tipping away and Tommy Ward, a big supporter of the yard, was giving me plenty of rides in professional races. My weight was quite good and it was always in the back of my mind to turn professional and I said 'now or never' or else I would regret it. I did talk it over with Ross as I was riding as an amateur, but I was also head lad in the yard and it is hard to juggle both when you turn professional. You need to really put the head down and focus on that. I was a little bit hesitant to go to him about it, but he was very supportive. He said that there was no point regretting it down the line and I should do it. In fairness to him, and all his owners, they have supported me well. I decided in June last year, but it took a while for the licence to come through because the summer break for jump jockeys is in June. When the break was over in July, I had my first ride as a conditional and it has been great.
Liz Doyle has been brilliant to me from day one that I turned conditional. By chance one day, I was just looking through declarations and I rang her and she put me up. From there, I have built a good connection with Liz, she's a very good trainer and I can't thank her enough. I got my first professional winner for her (on Applejack Poet in a handicap hurdle at Bellewstown in August last year) and I've ridden two winners for her since turning conditional. It is all about building up contacts and outside rides. It is very competitive in this country and, if you are not in a big yard, you have to really graft to put in the miles and get into as many trainers as you can and meet them on the Curragh as much as you can. I hate to disappoint lads, so I try to say 'yes' as much as I can. I'm always open to outside rides. I go to Cian Collins once a week, I meet Norman Lee on the Curragh any time he drives up from Galway. He might come up every fortnight and I'd ride a bit of work for him and school some horses. I have a good connection with Jim Gorman, assistant to Luke Comer, and he has been very good to me. Even as an amateur, I rode in a Listed bumper for him. When I turned conditional, he was more than supportive in giving me rides as a professional.
Tom winning aboard Gotthenod at Kilbeggan© Photo Healy Racing
If you asked me last July would I have a second place at Cheltenham the following March, I would have laughed. Eagles Reign (runner-up at 80/1 in the Boodles) was amazing, it is a magical place. I went over with the mindset that if he finished in the first 10 in the middle of them, it would be a brilliant run. He wouldn't blow you away in his bits of work at home, but when he sees a hurdle he lights up and he is a different horse and he just toughs it out. I was delighted to see the rain come the night before and that morning. It would affect other horses, but I knew my horse would just tough it out. He relished the hill in Cheltenham. It was a big surprise, but it was a great result really. I had led up horses for Willie Mullins there in 2018 and I was blown away by Cheltenham. The English love their racing and they really support it, and you can really see that when you go over there.
Eagles Reign won't be one for Punchestown, he has had a long season in the sense of starting in June last year on the Flat and having five or six runs and going jumping after that. It has been a good 10 months on the go. You can see from his run in Aintree (unplaced in Alder Hey Handicap Hurdle), it kind of left a mark on him so he'll have a little break now and will probably be back for the October meeting in Cheltenham. Cheltenham is what we are all aiming for. Everyone wants to be on the big stage riding winners against the best jockeys and riding the best horses. I will keep the head down now and, hopefully, it will be a good long summer and I can get my name out there a bit more again and kick on. I suppose the summer is a good chance for the likes of myself and other 7lb claimers and lads that haven't ridden 15 winners in the year to show off your talents. Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks, we can get the ball rolling full pelt and knock in a couple of winners.
If you came into Ross' stable on a Saturday morning, you'd see there's nearly more girls than fellas from school riding out - brilliant young riders. I think with the new Equuip jockey coaching programme, and with the simulators in RACE (Racing Academy and Centre of Education), there's great support for young riders to reach their potential. I can ring Paddy Flood before or after a race and chat to him about it and see what way I should ride the horse. He would look up the last couple of runs and give me plenty of advice. It is the same with Ross or Katie here. I think everyone needs a bit of guidance. if you look at any good jockeys, they always had a good mentor - Ruby and Katie had Ted (Walsh), and Patrick has Willie.
Tom was in conversation with Michael Graham
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