The Irish jocket discusses what it’s like to be based at Emmet Mullins’ yard, his favourite horses he has ridden and how England and Ireland are matching up ahead of Cheltenham
In our exclusive interview, Irish jockey Donagh Meyler reveals the best horse he has ever ridden, which trainer he would like to ride for and what it takes to be a successful jockey. He also looks ahead to the Cheltenham betting markets with the Festival fast approaching.
In your opinion – who is the best horse in training at the moment?
Constitution Hill is obviously a great horse, but it is hard to look beyond Galopin Des Champs and what he is doing. Florida Pearl was the last horse to win three Irish Gold Cups and Galopin Des Champs will be trying to emulate him.
It would be great to see him do it. It would take an iron horse to do it and one way of describing Galopin des Champs would be an ‘Iron Horse.’
For me he is the standout.
You’ve flown with fellow jockey and pilot Sean Flanagan and lived to tell the tale!
I have often flown with Sean. The two of us went over to Ayr. I was lucky enough to have a winner for Karl Burke on the same day. I also went to Cheltenham with him. I couldn’t knock him. He’s a good pilot. I’d give him the thumbs up to Mr O’Leary if he asks for a reference for Sean and Ryanair!
When you’re in the small plane you can look out both sides; it makes you very relaxed that you can see everything. It is a lovely feeling being up there.
You’ve had 19 winners this season as of January 25 – your career seems to be getting better and better each season?
I am based at Emmet Mullins’ yard and he is very good to me. He teaches me a lot, he has been through a true riding career himself. He is very well able to read a race and often asks my point of view on a race before I go out.
He could have a different view and give you different instructions, but he would always ask you first what you want to do. It is nice to be getting good information from a trainer who has done it all before. Â
I am also lucky enough to ride for Jesscia Harrington and Noel Meade as well. I am getting great support this year. My agent is doing a great job for me too.
It was great to get the winner in the Galway Plate on Pinkerton last summer and we have kept the shoulder to the wheel since then. We will keep driving forward. It was a bit of a turning point
You often see jockeys who win the Galway Plate go well later in the summer. That had a big part to play for me. Confidence is a big part of our game because with that win, you then ride with a lot of confidence and things materialise along the way when that happens. I also won the race in 2016 on Lord Scoundrel.
How hard is it to create a profile for yourself as a jockey in Ireland where it is such a competitive space?
It is hard. When you’re competing with the likes of Jack Kennedy, Paul Townend, Danny Mullins, Keith Donohue on a daily basis it is hard. But I love it. I love grinding it out in the mornings, riding out for different trainers and getting around to as many people as I can.
I wouldn’t wish to do anything else.
Any secrets you can give us to becoming a successful jockey?
I have got a very good strength and conditioning programme from a former jockey, Evan Daly, who is now out in Australia doing really well for himself as a personal trainer.
He used to ride for Joseph O’Brien and it’s great. It’s a programme which has been put together by someone who was in the game. He knows what muscles to fire up and what one you don’t. I got a programme off him and I try and get into the gym three or four days a week and that has worked well for me.
How did you start out riding horses and subsequently move on to becoming a professional jockey?
My next-door neighbour, John Dollard, had a horse called The Bunny Boiler – that’s how I started. They had a big farm up the road and it was a way of getting out of school!
I loved going up there. None of my family was into the horses as such, we didn’t have any at home. The Dollard family was very good to me, they got me into horses.
Eoin Doyle, a local trainer, I went to his on the weekends and that is how I first got introduced to the game. Then I went to Noel Meade’s and rode my first winner for Tony Martin, then went on to win a Paddy Power Chase on Anibale Fly who then came third in the Gold Cup under Barry Geraghty.
What is it like being part of the Mullins dynasty and what is their secret to being so greatly successful?
If I knew their secret, I wouldn’t be a jockey as I’d be training horses. All the Mullins family are good with their opinions. They are far more right than wrong.
They think outside the box – Emmet for example definitely does. He just has a completely different mindset to any other trainer I have worked with.
He is very good at placing horses. Slate Lane was one. He tips quietly away in England where he won four on the bounce over there at Bangor, Newton Abbott and Cartmel. He had a nice mark over there and was winning away without getting too much weight and then landed a big hurdle at Haydock. There are not many people you would see going down that route. He is just a very clever man.
Is there any pressure riding for the Mullins name?
He doesn’t put pressure on me to be fair. He comes in, he gets my saddle and he asks me if there is much pace and what I’d like to do during the race. He might agree with me or add another aspect depending on how he reads it. He has been in that position before and is very good at it.
Who is your best friend in the weighing room?
Keith Donhue would be a very good friend. I’ve known him for years and done a lot of hunting with him and been on a lot of holidays with him. I stay with him a lot when I am up riding out at Noel Meade’s. Sam Ewing, Jack Kennedy and Ricky Doyle are friends too.
The best horse you have ever ridden?
Anibale Fly was my first winner and meant an awful lot to me. Then winning the Munster National on Tiger Roll and to see what he went on to do was unbelievable. He would have to be right up there.
But for me personally, it has to be Feronily, my first Grade 1 in the Novice Choice at Punchestown two years ago now. It seems like yesterday, he was a special horse for me who helped me get that monkey off my back.
Another one to touch upon was Corbett’s Cross who won the Grade 2 hurdle at Naas and see what he had done in Emmett’s yard is great.
Could you tell Tiger Roll was going to be special when you rode him in the Munster National?
The way he jumped with me around Limerick I definitely didn’t think he would get around the Grand National. He was an impressive winner of the Munster National, but to say he jumped well around Limerick wouldn’t be correct!
The Dublin Racing Festival has grown phenomenally in recent years – what is the secret to its success?
It’s crazy. It’s great to see England having some entries too. I see James Owen has a nice horse in the Juvenile. The DRF is a big part of our year now and is a beautiful stepping stone on to Cheltenham.
All our best horses meet at Leopardstown. You get a great reading on the horses coming into Cheltenham.
I’ll have a few rides myself. I’m riding Affordale Fury in the Gold Cup. He’s an outsider but he won his beginners in Galway beating a horse called Favori De Champdou that went on to win a Grade 2 and a Grade 3.Â
Cheltenham has been a happy hunting ground for the Irish – can the English mount a comeback?
I see that Harry Skelton was over in Willie’s during the summer, so he is obviously after latching on to a lot of the things Willie does. It seems to be working because his horses are flying over in England.
Harry is a lovely fella. I was on a skiing trip with him two years ago. He’s great fun. I am sure Harry was picking Willie’s brain. Knowing Harry I don’t think he would have left a stone unturned when he came to this side of the waters.
Willie, Gordon [Elliott] and Henry De Bromhead are all clever men who’ve been in a variety of yards. Gordon learnt a lot in England with David Pipe. They are outstanding trainers.
Gavin Cromwell is up there with them. He was a farrier at Gordon Eliott’s and I remember when I first went into Gavin’s yard he had ten stables. Now he has 100 plus. Hats off to him. He has started from nothing and what he’s done is phenomenal.
If you could ride for an English trainer, who would it be?
Dan Skelton. I wouldn’t mind either having a go with Nicky Henderson. He has a few nice ones there who I’d love to throw my leg across.
Why is racing so much more competitive in Ireland?
In some families it is a way of life. Over here there is not so much racing which keeps it more compact. You don’t get horses dodging each other. They have to run against each other. Another thing would be prize money. People love seeing the best facing the best. That is what we love to see and what makes the DRF so good. The punters love it too.
What are your ambitions in the sport?
The common answer is to stay safe and win as many races as I can. But to get another win at Cheltenham would be great and one at Aintree. Another couple of Grade 1s wouldn’t go amiss either!