O'Donoghue Rises To New Challenge

It was only when he removed himself from the comfort zone that Colm O'Donoghue could discover quite how comfortably he operated in the sport's most challenging crucibles. He had been at Ballydoyle for two decades, literally since the day he left school. And if Europe's premier stable is scarcely lacking in intensity, the fact was that O'Donoghue–though amply qualified, in the view of many–was never going to experience either the benefits or burdens that go with appointment as its number one jockey.

That had become still more obvious as a family genius for horsemanship was amplified in the maturing talents of Aidan O'Brien's sons, first Joseph and now Donnacha. And there was still Ryan Moore, of course; not to mention Seamie Heffernan, like O'Donoghue a longstanding Ballydoyle stalwart. O'Donoghue knew he had respect, knew he had affection. One morning last summer, however, he woke up and decided that it was now or never. He was 36, in his absolute prime as a jockey, and had a ton of experience at the highest level. But unless he did something about it, he was never going to discover the full span of his ability.

And here he is, not even a year later, with a Classic winner leading a series of fancied mounts prepared for Royal Ascot by a very different trainer, if a no less remarkable one, in Jessica Harrington.

“Riding for her is very special for me because she gives me so much confidence, and so much responsibility,” O'Donoghue says. “And I believe if you give someone that responsibility, you bring out the best in them.”

If things were different before, then O'Donoghue intends no slight on the man he served, happily and productively, for so long. Even as best supporting actor, after all, he had won his “Oscars” in races like the 2011 Irish Derby on Treasure Beach (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) or the 2015 Oaks on Qualify (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}).

“Aidan was like my guardian, he was my example,” he says. “I was there since I was 15, I think he was only 26 himself then–and he hasn't changed an awful lot. But I woke up one morning and said to myself: 'Right, time to go'. I didn't want to have any regrets, to finish up thinking you had your chance, you weren't brave enough, didn't have enough belief. Because I do believe in myself. So I had to take a chance. It was something I had to do.”

O'Donoghue had already forged a part-time link with Harrington when Fran Berry left to ride in Britain. And the affinity they discovered was such that O'Donoghue was prepared to undergo a personal wrench to embrace professional opportunity.

When he took O'Brien aside and told him, his boss thought O'Donoghue needed 24 hours to be sure he meant what he was saying. But the next day the script was unchanged. O'Brien wished him all the best, assured him he would always only be a phone call away. At Ballydoyle, however, you are either on the team or not; and O'Donoghue has had to make his own way this year, supported by Mick Halford and John Oxx besides Harrington.

“I went to Ballydoyle for a weekend, was back the following week–and was there 21 years,” he reflects. “So it's been incredible. I was so fortunate, the horses I got to ride and the experience I got working for Aidan, the way he does things and his attention to detail. And he embeds all that in you as well. But it wasn't a knee-jerk thing, it was on my mind for a while before that morning when I just said to myself: 'Colm, it's time to go; time to make your own bed.'”

“Obviously there were going to be massive changes. Would you get the support? Would you ride a Classic winner again? Would you even ride in Classic races again? And it would be very daunting for someone to walk away from that, if you haven't ridden Classic winners, Group 1 winners. Whereas I had already done it. I had to believe, if ever I had the opportunity again, that I could do it. So that's what pushed me: I believed that if I got that opportunity, I could get the job done.”

And, in almost no time, he found himself with the chance to prove as much–to Harrington, to the watching world, and to himself. Trainer and jockey together had assured the Niarchos family that Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) had a better chance in the G1 Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas last month than seemed apparent from her performance in heavy ground on her reappearance.

“We'd been telling the owners how well she'd been working, so after the trial possibly there were question marks next to all our names,” O'Donoghue grins. “But that had been a non-event: she got very tired in the ground, after such a wet spring when we hadn't been able to get on the grass.”

Her Curragh success qualifies Alpha Centauri as one of the favourites for the G1 Coronation S. on Friday. “If you watch the Guineas, I'm completely covered until we meet the junction,” her rider reflects. “And then she had to put in a big run to go and run down the other filly. That won't have done her any harm, because in her previous races she's always done the donkey work. She would have learned plenty, and I think she'll improve for the Guineas too.”

The stable also has a leading candidate for the Gold Cup on Wednesday in Torcedor (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), fifth last year but plainly on a high judged on his five-length G3 success on the same track last month. “He's in great form and I think he'll run a big race,” O'Donoghue says. “He obviously loves the track, and he felt his best ever in the Sagaro: he relaxed, he travelled, he moved superb, and when I asked him he really picked up and galloped right to the line.”

Auspiciously, moreover, Harrington has a strong team of juveniles heading to the meeting. Indigo Balance (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) goes to the G2 Coventry S. on Tuesday after an impressive debut at the Curragh. “He's a lovely horse,” O'Donoghue says. “His barrier trial in Dundalk was obviously good for him, but he's always been quite sharp and we've just been keeping a lid on him if anything. I rode him to enjoy the race and come out of it: if it happened, it happened. But if I'd set him alight all the good work that'd been done at home would have been ruined.”

Meanwhile, the fillies Servalan (Ire) (No Nay Never) and Chicas Amigas (Ire) (Dragon Pulse {Ire}), first and second in a listed race at Naas, are both in the G3 Albany S. on Friday–albeit the former has the option of dropping in trip for the G2 Queen Mary S. on Wednesday.

For O'Donoghue's fresh start to have been vindicated this way is no less than he deserves. Don't take my word for it, though I remember noticing him when he was not yet 20 and already thinking he had the lot: balance, strength, style. One of the most accomplished trainers in Europe, asked for his opinion last week, described O'Donoghue as “a rider you could put up to win any big race in the world.”

“I suppose I was exposed to a lot of experience at a very early age,” he reflects. “Riding for Aidan worldwide, riding in Group 1s at 18 or 19, whether it be pacemakers or not: that environment, that pace, now it's second nature. You learn feel, you learn pace. Horses [at that level] react so differently, you've got to do things a lot different around them: the slightest thing turns them on. All through the years with Aidan, even when you're riding work and he's beside you in the jeep, you see how the little things really do matter.”

“Jessie's been a phenomenal trainer for so many years. The timing is fantastic and she's giving me the responsibility. Before I was in the bubble of the spirit level. Now it's my responsibility and I've got to go out there and get the job done. That's what lifts you in the morning; that's what's refreshing for me. She allows me to express myself. When you're on the track, you're in control–and any jockey will tell you that when you have that freedom, things just happen; that when you're happy in yourself, things happen.”