Colm O’Donoghue

Colm O’Donoghue has been an integral part of the highly-successful Aidan O’Brien stable for the over a decade. In fact, for much of the 2010 season he was second only to Johnny Murtagh on the big-race team in what is one of the world’s most successful training operations and as a result, he has picked up numerous big-race wins.

Principal Trainer: Aidan O’Brien

Colm O'DonoghueNotable Wins:

  • Canadian International (Joshua Tree 2010)
  • Testimonial Stakes (Luisant 2010)
  • Irish Cesarewitch (Bright Horizon 2010)
  • Victoria Cup (Dandy Boy 2010)
  • Royal Lodge Stakes (Joshua Tree 2009)
  • Portland Handicap (Santo Padre 2009)
  • Give Thanks Stakes (Tamarind 2009)
  • Ulster Derby (Changingoftheguard 2009)
  • Dante Stakes (Black Bear Island 2009)
  • Chester Vase (Golden Sword 2009)
  • Kilternan Stakes (The Bogberry 2008)
  • Noblesse Stakes (Ice Queen 2008)
  • Greenlands Stakes (Astronomer Royal 2008)
  • Goffs Autumn Bonus Race at Listowel (Lilleshall 2007)
  • Round Tower Stakes (Norman Invader 2007)
  • French 2000 Guineas (Astronomer Royal 2007)
  • Eyrefield Stakes (Anton Chekhov 2006) Horris Hill Stakes (Hurricane Cat 2005)
  • Diamond Stakes (Mikado 2004)
  • Knockaire Stakes (Fearn Royal 2004)
  • Danehill Dancer Stakes (Shizao 2002)
  • Phoenix Stakes (Spartacus 2002)
  • McDonogh Handicap (Sheer Tenby 2000)
  • Entrepreneur Stakes (Lahinch 2000)
  • Scurry Handicap (Oyster Catcher 1999, Theano 1997)

Early Days

Colm rode his first winner on the Aidan O’Brien-trained My Lorraine at Sligo on June 24th 1997 and less than a week later partnered Theano to a surprise win in the valuable John Roary Memorial Scurry Handicap at the Curragh on Derby Day, one of the most competitive handicaps of the entire season. Colm ended that season with five winners to his credit and repeated that total in 1998, with his victory on Coconut Creek in the Joe McGrath Handicap at Leopardstown being the highlight of the quintet.

Although he had to wait until June of 1999 to get off the mark for that particular season, another victory in the John Roarty Memorial Scurry Handicap on the O’Brien-trained Oyster Catcher helped to raise his profile and Colm found himself getting plenty of outside rides around this time. Trainers like Frances Crowley, John Bowles and Liam McAteer began to use him on a regular basis and in October 1999, he partnered Zelden to a narrow success in the Derrinstown Stud Apprentice Handicap Final at the Curragh, one of thirteen victories he amassed that year.

Climbing The Ladder

Riding work on a regular basis with the likes of Michael Kinane and Seamie Heffernan was obviously a big help to Colm and another 13 winners were notched up in the year 2000, but the following season proved to be the one where he really made his mark. He partnered several big-race winners with the O’Brien-trained El Bueno winning the Glanbia Classic Trial at Gowran Park, while Lahinch gave him victory in the Entrepreneur Stakes at Tipperary for the Ballydoyle team. Later in the season, Colm won the fiercely competitive McDonogh Handicap at the Galway Festival on the Paul Roche-trained Sheer Tenby, while he also rode the likes of the talented Hawkeye to success in a conditions race at the Curragh. That 2001 season saw him finish as runner up to Tadhg O’Shea in the Apprentice Jockey’s Championship with 23 winners and he was only claiming a 3 lb allowance at this stage of his career.

Group 1 Success

When Aidan O’Brien has multiple runners in Group 1 races, Colm would often partner one of the outsiders of the team and his mounts were regularly used as pacemakers which is a very important task in itself. In the Independent Waterford Wedgwood Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh in 2002, O’Donoghue was on the outsider of the stable’s four runners, but on the soft going, his mount Spartacus relished the conditions and just held on in a driving finish to score at odds of 20/1. As Colm was still a claiming apprentice at this time, it was a highly-significant success and it was without doubt the biggest success of his career at that point. Later that season, Colm rode the Jim Bolger-trained Shizao to a fine win in the Listed Danehill Dancer Tipperary Stakes and then recorded a double at Cork just two weeks later.

Consolidation

In 2003, Colm had the distinction of partnering Aidan O’Brien’s 150/1 outsider, Roosevelt, to finish a fine third to Alamshar and Dalakhani in the Budweiser Irish Derby at the Curragh, one of six runners for the stable in the race that particular year. He also won the Derrinstown Stud Apprentice Final at the Curragh on the Willie Browne-trained Premier View and the EBF Fillies Handicap at the Galway Festival on the Kevin O’Brien-trained Mwaley. Colm lost his claim in July 2004, but he was still very much in demand with a large variety of trainers. One of his more notable successes that season came on board the Peter Casey-trained Fearn Royal in the Knockaire Stakes at Leopardstown, while he notched up another Listed race success on Aidan O’Brien’s Mikado in the Diamond Stakes at the Curragh.

In the 2005 season, he went one place closer in the Irish Derby and indeed, looked likely to pull off a major upset for much of the straight in the race, kicking clear on the O’Brien-trained Scorpion and only just being collared by Hurricane Run close home. He recorded a notable success in Great Britain when guiding the O’Brien-trained Hurricane Cat to take the Horris Hill Stakes at Newbury, one of 16 winners he partnered and a total that was good enough to see him finish in the top fifteen in the Irish Jockeys’ Flat Championship.

The 2006 season was another solid campaign for O’Donoghue, with notable successes coming in the Classic Trial at Gowran Park on the O’Brien-trained Poseidon Adventure, while he landed the Eyrefield Stakes at Leopardstown on Anton Chekhov. While that campaign lacked a really big success, the following season proved more than worth the wait for the loyal jockey.

Classic Glory

The 2007 season began in tremendous fashion for O’Donoghue, as he gained his first Classic success on the O’Brien-trained Astronomer Royal in the French 2000 Guineas. That win was no more than he deserved for a decade of service to the Ballydoyle operation, and that season would bring further success for him. In September, Ken Condon provided him with two notable winners, namely in the Group 3 Round Tower Stakes at the Curragh on Norman Invader and in the Goffs Autumn Bonus Race at Listowel on Lilleshall. In between those two wins, he rode the O’Brien-trained Red Rock Canyon to finish third in the Irish Champion Stakes.

2008 was another solid year for O’Donoghue, with him gaining a number of Group race successes. The first of those wins came on his old friend, Astronomer Royal, in the Group 3 Greenlands Stakes at the Curragh and a few weeks later he gained a somewhat surprising success of the O’Brien-trained Ice Queen in the Group 3 Noblesse Stakes at Cork. He wrapped up the season by riding The Bogberry to win the Kilternan Stakes at Leopardstown in September.

A Career-Best Season

From somewhat out of the blue, 2009 would prove to be the best season of O’Donoghue’s career, with him gaining big-race successes at both sides of the Irish Sea. He began his run of success in the Derby Trials in England, winning the Chester Vase on Golden Sword and the Dante Stakes on Black Bear Island. His run of form continued into the summer months, with him riding Changingoftheguard to success in the Ulster Derby at Down Royal before gaining his biggest domestic win of the season on Tamarind in the Group 3 Give Thanks Stakes at Cork in August. He finished the campaign with a flurry too, winning the valuable Portland Handicap at Doncaster on the David Marnane-trained Santo Padre before winning the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes at Ascot on the O’Brien-trained Joshua Tree. All told, he rode 30 winners and amassed well over €1m in prize money during the course of the year.

At The Top Of His Game

With him now established as one of the most reliable jockeys in the weighing room, O’Donoghue enjoyed another lucrative season in 2010. In particular, his continued partnership with the fast-rising trainer David Marnane has proven to be very successful, with the pair combining with Bangalore Gold to win a premier handicap at the Curragh and then with Dandy Boy to win the lucrative Victoria Cup at Ascot, as well as many other lesser winners. While he failed to win a Listed or Group race in Ireland for Aidan O’Brien, he was entrusted with the ride on Joshua Tree in the Grade 1 Canadian International in October and he proved more than equal to the task, giving his mount an excellent ride to narrowly prevail in a rough race.

That win came just prior to Johnny Murtagh announcing that he would not be retained by the Coolmore partnership in 2011 and it acted as a timely message from O’Donoghue to his bosses that he is more than capable of getting the job done on the international stage. With no replacement rider having been announced by Coolmore, it would be no surprise to see O’Donoghue being given plenty of big opportunities in 2011.

Info supplied by Horse Racing Ireland - Updated January 2011