Our questions are answered by the Dubai World Cup-winning rider, recently crowned UAE champion jockey for the 12th time
Laurel River’s sensational victory in the Dubai World Cup was a crowning moment in the career of jockey Tadhg O’Shea.
Having recently landed his 12th jockeys’ title in the UAE, the 42-year-old is a stalwart of the sport in the Middle East yet the Bhupat Seemar-trained five-year-old was only his third ride in the Dubai showpiece.
Laurel River, preceded by the success of Tuz in the G1 Golden Shaheen, made it an unforgettable night at Meydan for O’Shea. “It was pinch yourself stuff, one of those great nights,” he says.
O’Shea first arrived in Dubai in 2001 on a scholarship sponsored by the late Hamdan Al Maktoum for the winners of Ireland’s apprentice championship and has been a fixture ever since.
Which racing figure past or present do you most admire?
It was always Mick Kinane as a kid, and still is. My first boss Michael Halford always told me to watch the best there was around and for me he had no equal. I was very fortunate to ride a few years with him in Ireland. He was a great guy to ask for advice, and for me he had no equal.
He was the ultimate professional, super-dedicated. I asked him for advice once and he said: “Tadhg, some jockeys are like sheep. They only look at the horse in front of them. I look at the horses that are six, seven or eight horses ahead of me.”
He was so tactically astute. You rarely saw a Mick Kinane ride when he was in the wrong place.
Which is your favourite venue, and race, anywhere in the world?
My favourite venue would be Mallow racecourse [now Cork] purely because I was born and bred a couple of miles from the track in Dromahane. On the occasions I was riding there my mother and father, sisters and brothers, would attend, so any time I had a winner there was special.
The race? Thankfully I’ve won it now – the Dubai World Cup. I am still in shock that I’ve won it to be honest. Laurel River was my third ride in the race so I appreciate how hard it is to get a ride in the race. I’ve been here 23-odd years and have been lucky to win all those championships but I would still always struggle to get a ride in the race, let alone a good one. It was amazing.
Who is your favourite racehorse and why?
I don’t really like singling out any particular horse but I always go back to my first winner, Class Society at Tipperary on 9-9-1999. She was by no means the best I’ve ever ridden but the buzz I got that day as a kid set me on the path that thankfully has brought me to races all over the world and destinations I could have never have dreamt of going to. She’s the one that got the whole thing going.
What is your fondest memory in racing?
There’s been plenty. When I first came to Dubai I had hardly been outside Ireland. To be a young kid and to be given the opportunity to come and ride for a sheikh put me in dreamland. I thought I was Mick Kinane, Lester Piggott and Frankie Dettori rolled into one. It was mesmerising.
I’ve been very fortunate to ride many Group 1 Arabian horses and winners. We don’t get many opportunities to ride in G1 Thoroughbred races in Dubai. To tick that off two years ago and win a G1 on Switzerland [Dubai Golden Shaheen in 2022] and then to follow with the G1 double in World Cup night was amazing.
If you could change one thing in racing, what would it be?
Nothing. I’ve had plenty of highs and plenty of lows. I’ve lost lots of jobs but it probably made me stronger. My wife says things happen for a reason. At the time you say, ‘Why me?’ but when you look at the broader picture you realise not everything lasts forever. It’s very rare in racing you keep the same job. It made me work harder and appreciate the winners more. I am a better person, a stronger rider, an all-rounder because of it.
Tadhg O’Shea was speaking to Jon Lees
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