Few young conditional riders have burst onto the scene in the manner that Eddie O’Connell has in 2010/11. Just 21 years old at the start of the campaign, he hit a rich vein of form in the first half of the season that saw him rocket to the top of the Conditional Riders Championship. With his riding improving all the time, it looks highly likely that this young rider will remain right in the mix for that championship throughout the season.
Principal Trainer: Jim Lambe
Early Days
The son of an engineer that is an avid hunter on horseback, other than that he doesn’t have any racing pedigree of note other than being from the racing heartland of Kildare. His first racing experience came with Martin Brassil and Dessie Hughes as a teenager and from there, he became involved in the northern pony racing circuit and eventually linked up with Tyrone-based trainer Jim Lambe.
Riding as an amateur, O’Connell took his first mount on the racecourse on the Ray McGlinchey-trained Mcswynes Bay in a bumper at Ballinrobe on May 29th 2007 and he almost made it a winning start, failing by just ½-length. He had to wait nearly a year to break his duck, riding the Jim Lambe-trained Torrid Kentavr to success in a handicap hurdle at Tramore on April 14th 2008. Just a few weeks later he doubled his tally by riding the Jim Lambe-trained Andijan to win a conditions hurdle at Down Royal and later that month he gained his first win in Britain on the Jim Lambe-trained Sir Quigley in a handicap hurdle at Hexham. The following July, he gained his first win on the Flat, riding the Shark Hanlon-trained Darenjan to success in a qualified riders handicap at Bellewstown. He gained another success in Britain later that month, with him riding the Barry Potts-trained Spa Wells to win a handicap hurdle at Perth.
Turning Professional
Despite having to endure a long losing run that lasted over a year, O’Connell decided to turn professional in the early stages of the 2009/10 season. While it looked a risky decision at the time, it didn’t take long for O’Connell to start building momentum. Fittingly, it was the horse that he had his first-ever racecourse ride Mcswynes Bay that helped him break him losing run, winning a handicap hurdle at Downpatrick in early-August. He had to wait until October to add to his tally, but when he did he made it two wins within a week for Jim Lambe, winning a novice hurdle on Quivvy Bridge at Hexham and a maiden hurdle at Kelso on Canadian Blaze. O’Connell added three more wins to his tally during the remainder of the season, but it was at the very start of the next campaign that he embarked on a remarkable run of form.
Red-Hot Form
O’Connell’s impact in the 2010/11 season was immediate, with him riding his first-ever double at Sligo in the opening days of the season. Another winner followed at Ballinrobe just two days later and by the end of that week, he rode out his 7 lb claim on the Brain Nolan-trained Tus Nua at Killarney. His next win came at Gowran Park in mid-June on the Sean Thornton-trained City Hustler and a month later, that horse was one leg of a remarkable treble for O’Connell at Ballinrobe, a tremendous feat for a 5 lb claiming conditional. A win at the Galway Festival on the Eoin Griffin-trained Baracas soon followed, as did another double at Sligo less than a week later. Now very much the in-form rider in the country, O’Connell continued to boot home the winners and remarkably, on September 22nd, he completed his second treble is as many months, this time at Downpatrick.
While his momentum slowed after that memorable day, he has continued to ride well and indeed, such was the fast start he made to the season, he still lies in joint-second position in the race for the title of Champion Conditional Rider, for all that he is well behind the leader Bryan Cooper. He remains a rider of promise and is one to keep an eye on as the new season begins.
Info supplied by Horse Racing Ireland - Updated May 2011.
