Amy Kathleen Parsons was born in Crickhowell in Wales, the same town as former top amateur rider and Irish-based trainer Joanna Morgan originated from. In fact, Morgan taught Parson’s mother how to ride and she would go on to take Parson’s under her wing in later years.
Principal Trainers: Joanna Morgan, Tom McCourt, Frederick Bowles
Notable Wins: Crown Paints Premier Handicap (Zhukhov 2008)
Early Days
Amy began her career in racing with Ian Balding in England when she was 16, but she only got one ride on the track during her time there which yielded a short-head second on a horse called Palawan for Andrew Balding on the all-weather at Southwell in December 2003. Soon after that, on the advice of Joanna Morgan, Amy decided to come over to Ireland to ply her trade. That decision was soon rewarded as she began to get much more rides once the 2004 Flat season began, riding primarily for Joanna Morgan and Frederick Bowles. She had to sit and suffer for a while before riding her first winner, having no less than four agonising seconds before eventually getting her head in front on the Joanna Morgan-trained Portant Fella in an apprentice handicap at Naas on August 2nd 2004.
While Amy took a number of rides on the all-weather in England during the winter of 2004/05, it wasn’t until the turf season re-opened in Ireland that her work rate was upped. She doubled her tally when riding the Harry Rogers-trained Kilmannin to an easy success against the professional riders in a handicap at Leopardstown in May. That would prove to be her only winner of the season, but having taken a total of 68 rides, the season could be considered a solid progression for Parsons.
2006 began somewhat slowly for Amy, but she put in a notably strong finish. She got off the mark for the season when riding Tom McCourt-trained Zhukhov to win a 5f handicap at Cork in August before following up that success just two days later when Common Venture won a 12f handicap at Roscommon. She wrapped up a good seasons work by riding the Con Collins-trained Ucanstep to win a 7f handicap at Down Royal on September 1st.
A Season To Remember
When Amy looks back on her career in years to come, there is little doubt that she will consider 2007 to be her breakout season. This time Amy wasted no time in getting off the mark for the year, riding the Tom McCourt-trained Copper Dock to win an apprentice handicap at Tipperary on April 12th. The end of May/beginning of June period was a fruitful one for Amy as she gained three wins in the space of four days, winning twice on Bahhare Desert and on Genuine Easy, who were both trained by Joanna Morgan. She gained her next win a month later on Zhukhov in a sprint handicap at Bellewstown before partnering the Joanna Morgan-trained Raise Your Heart to success in a 10f handicap at Leopardstown a fortnight later. Following a win on Carpetcall at Wexford in late August, she finished the season strongly with two wins on the David Marnane-trained Maundy Money and a win on the Joanna Morgan-trained Danetime Lily at Navan. That last win proved to be the winner for Amy in the 2007 Derrinstown Stud Apprentice Series. In total, she had four wins, three seconds and three thirds in the 36 legs of the series which was enough to see off the attentions of Shane Foley and secure the first prize of €2,000 worth of prize bonds which she received on October 21st at the Curragh.
2008 was another solid campaign for Amy. While she didn’t match the success she had in 2007, she was successful on four occasions on horses trained by Tom McCourt. It was her old friend Zhukhov that provided the pick of those wins and indeed, the most valuable win of her career, when winning the Crown Paints Premier Handicap at the Curragh in September. 2008 was wrapped up by her gaining her first and only win in Britain, riding Out Of Nothing to success in a handicap at Ayr in November.
Despite the successes of 2007 and 2008, 2009 was a struggle for Amy. She failed to ride a winner from limited opportunities and it was undoubtedly a frustrating time. She took her last ride at Dundalk in October 2009 and whether she returns to race riding or not, she can look back with pride on a successful few years in the saddle.
Info supplied by Horse Racing Ireland - Updated January 2011
