Youghal native Denis O’Regan has quickly established himself as one of the top young Irish jump jockeys in recent seasons. His win on Ansar in the Galway Plate in 2005 was undoubtedly his breakout winner and since then he has gone from strength to strength, with his move to Britain in 2007/8 proving to be a huge success.
Principal Trainers: Martin Todhunter, Michael Blake, Chris Grant
Notable Wins:
- Mildmay Novices' Chase (Killyglen 2009)
- Becher Handicap Chase (Black Apalachi 2008)
- Maghull Novices' Chase (Tidal Bay 2008)
- World Hurdle (Inglis Drever 2008)
- Arkle Challenge Trophy Chase (Tidal Bay 2008)
- Boylesports.com Gold Cup (Tamarinbleu 2007)
- Long Distance Hurdle (Inglis Drever 2007)
- Ellier Developments Hanover Quay Champion Novice Chase (Offshore Account 2007)
- Grimes Novice Chase (Church Island 2005)
- Galway Plate (Ansar 2005)
Early Days
O’Regan’s first foray into equine pursuits came on the pony that was bought for him by his father when he was still in primary school. That initial riding experience aroused an interest in O’Regan and he soon found himself spending more and more time at the yard owned by his cousin, John Crowley. Crowley had shown himself to be a talented jockey when riding for Paddy Mullins earlier in his career and at that time he was a member of the training ranks. Arguably Crowley’s best his best-known inmate was the talented chaser, Ballinacurra Lad. Like many future stars of the weighing room, O’Regan tried his hand at pony racing, but as he didn’t have much luck at it and he preferred to take part in drag hunts which he did quite well in.
When he was 16, O’Regan spent a summer with Francis Flood and it was during this time that he was well and truly bitten by the racing bug. It was Flood that provided O’Regan with his first racecourse ride which came on All Honey in a Cork bumper on 17th April 2001. She finished a promising sixth to Ground Ball on that occasion but just three days later, she was turned out again in Listowel with O’Regan in the plate and came home in front to give Denis a memorable first success. However, he had to be patient as the winners came slowly but surely in the 2001/2 season, with him gaining a total of five successes, the most notable of them coming on Georges Girl in a bumper at Roscommon and Curfew Toils in a hunter chase at Tramore. The following season saw him register increased success, riding a total of seven winners.
Climbing The Ladder
It was in late 2004 that O’Regan left the Francis Flood yard to take up a role with the leading National Hunt trainer, Noel Meade. The move resulted in further improvement in his strike-rate on the racecourse and he gained his first double when partnering Burnt Out and Thecaulofesker to victory at Gowran Park in December 2004. He proved that it was no fluke when repeating the dose on Rainbow Dash and Rusty Jack for Tom McCourt at Fairyhouse the following month.
The biggest win of O’Regan’s career at that stage came on the Dermot Weld-trained Ansar in the Galway Plate in 2005. Ansar had become known as a Galway specialist but having won the 2004 renewal of the race, he was set to carry top weight of 12 stone. Dermot Weld was of the opinion that the diminutive horse would struggle to carry such a significant weight in what is traditionally one of the most competitive handicap chases in the racing calendar and their best chance would be to claim off him. During the race, O’Regan gave his mount an admirably no nonsense ride, going the shortest route on the inner before hitting the front at the final fence and quickening away to win by an impressive seven length margin.
A fortnight later, still riding on the crest of the wave of Ansar’s Galway success, O’Regan began what would prove to be a profitable partnership with the Michael Hourigan-trained Church Island. A win in a moderate-looking beginners chase at Kilbeggan was followed the next month by an easy win in the Grade 3 Grimes Novice Chase at Tipperary. Three weeks later O’Regan gained his third success on the six-year-old at Clonmel, but the best was saved for Cheltenham the following month where the partnership impressively accounted for the highly-regarded Celtic Son by eight lengths. The remainder of the 2005/6 season saw O’Regan record consistent successes with notable wins coming on Arch Rebel and Mossbank. The summer of 2006 saw him form successful partnerships with a number of useful sorts, gaining two wins apiece on More Rainbows and Foreign Seas.
Grade 1 Glory
O’Regan achieved a notable milestone in late October 2006 when he rode his first treble at Wexford. Two of his winner’s were trained by Noel Meade, Hard Scuffle and Irish Nation, with the Philip Rothwell-trained Mission Possible completing a memorable day for O’Regan. It was in the closing days of that season that O’Regan gained his first success at Grade 1 level, riding the Charlie Swan-trained Offshore Account to a somewhat fortuitous success in the Ellier Developments Hanover Quay Champion Novice Chase at the Punchestown Festival. He finished the season with a best-ever total of 56 winners in Ireland and it was not long before he was rewarded for that success, with it being announced that he was to take over from Paddy Brennan as the stable jockey to the Durham-based trainer Howard Johnson. It was a massive move for O’Regan, but he didn’t have to wait long for any lingering doubts in his mind to be vanquished.
Britain Beckons
O’Regan’s first season in England proved to be hugely successful, with no small part being played by the remarkable Inglis Drever and the highly-talented Tidal Bay. Inglis Drever was already established as a legend before O’Regan sat on him having already won the World Hurdle in 2005 and 2007, but O’Regan got an excellent tune out of the old war horse, winning the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury in December before gaining a memorable success in the World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival the following March. That latter win completed a Cheltenham Festival double for O’Regan, as he had already ridden Tidal Bay to success in the Arkle Challenge Trophy Chase. The following month O’Regan would again team up with Tidal Bay to gain yet another Grade 1 success, this time in the Maghull Novices' Chase at the Aintree Grand National meeting. He also managed to find the time to return to Ireland on a regular basis, riding no less than 28 winners during the season. It was an immensely successful first season back in England for O’Regan and it certainly established him as one of the fastest rising stars in the British weighing room.
2008/9 saw O’Regan consolidate his position with Johnson and while he didn’t ride any Grade 1 winners during the course of the season, it was unquestionably another highly-successful season. The highlights of his term were his wins in the Becher Handicap Chase over the Aintree Grand National fences on the Dessie Hughes-trained Black Apalachi and his win on the Johnson-trained Killyglen in the Mildmay Novices' Chase at the Aintree Grand National meeting. He didn’t get back to Ireland quite as much during the course of that season, though he did ride a total of 10 winners.
The 2009/10 campaign was a solid, if somewhat unspectacular one for O’Regan. His visits to Ireland were even fewer than they had been in the previous campaign, but he did manage to ride a winner at the Galway Festival on the Jim Lambe-trained Natal in a conditions chase. While he failed to ride a big-race winner back in Britain, his tally of 66 winners was more than respectable. At the conclusion of the campaign, it was announced that Graham Wylie would no longer be retaining a jockey, so O’Regan was back to freelancing for 2010/11.
This season has been another solid campaign for O’Regan, with him riding winners for a wide variety of trainers. While he has yet to strike in a big race, his talent remains the same and it is unlikely to be too long before he finds himself back in the big-race winner’s enclosure.
Info supplied by Horse Racing Ireland - Updated January 2011
