Colm O'Donoghue

Quick Facts

Intro

Jockey

Places

Ireland

Equestrian Jockey

Work field

Sports

Gender

Male

Birth

13 November 1980 People who share this birthday

Place of birth

Buttevant, County Cork, Ireland

Age

44 years

The details (from wikipedia)

Biography

Colm O'Donoghue (born 13 November 1980, Buttevant, County Cork, Ireland) is a multiple Group 1 and Classic winning flat jockey, based at the Ballydoyle racing stables in Rosegreen, Cashel, County Tipperary.

Career

Colm rode his first winner "My Lorraine" at Sligo in 1997. Less than a week later he partnered Theano to a surprise win in the valuable John Roary Memorial Handicap at the Curragh on Derby Day, one of the most competitive handicaps of the season. Other trainers began to use him on a regular basis and in October 1999, he partnered Zelden to success in the Derrinstown Stud Apprentice Handicap final at the Curragh. Since then he has won numerous listed, group and other major races in Ireland including the Phoenix Stakes, Noblesse Stakes, Greenlands Stakes, Round Tower Stakes, Debutante Stakes, Ulster Derby, the Irish Cesarewich and the McDonagh Handicap at the Galway festival.

In June 2011 he won the Irish Derby at the Curragh Racecourse on the Aidan O'Brien trained Treasure Beach. This was his second European classic success following victory in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains, which he won on Astronomer Royal in 2007.

In August 2011 he won the Shergar Cup at Ascot as a member of the victorious Irish Jockey's team, winning the 12 furlong Shergar Cup Classic race on "'Parlour Games'"; his first ride for Godolphin. In November he was nominated for an Outstanding Achievement Award by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI).

In January 2012 he was invited to represent Ireland in the Meydan Masters International jockeys challenge in Dubai and in March won the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Derby on Daddy Long Legs at the Dubai Carnival meeting.

O' Donoghue is recognised as one of the world's leading international riders with many high profile wins in the United Kingdom, France, United States, Canada, India, Dubai and Japan. These big race wins include the Chester Vase (Group 3), Dante Stakes (Group 2), Cherry Hinton Stakes (Group 2), Victoria Cup and Royal Lodge (twice), the Critérium International (Group 1), the Canadian International (Grade 1), the Secretariat Stakes (Grade 1), Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (Grade 1), the McDowell Indian Derby (Grade 1), Indian 1000 and 2000 Guineas (Grade 1s), Indian Oaks (Grade 1) and the Indian Turf Invitation Cup (Grade 1).

Colm has ridden for many leading trainers and owners in some of the world's most prestigious races including Coolmore and Aidan O' Brien, Jim Bolger, Dermot Weld and John Oxx in Ireland, Bobby Frankel, Neil Drysdale, Bob Baffert and Todd Pletcher in the US, Lee Freedman (Australia), Dr MAM Ramaswamy, Subaiah Ganapathy and Vijay Mallya in India and Katsuhiko Sumii (Japan).

World-renowned flat jockey Mick Kinane described O'Donoghue's performance on Treasure Beach in the 2011 Epsom Derby as the best ride in the race.

His most recent international big race victory was the inaugural running of the American St.Leger at the Arlington Million meeting at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois, in August 2012. O'Donoghue won the race on Jakkalberry for the Newmarket based trainer, Marco Botti.