Robbie Colgan is a hard-grafting jockey who, having taken his first ride on the racecourse in the 1998/9 season, has worked his way up through the ranks to become an established member of the Irish National Hunt weighing room. In recent years Colgan has been associated with the Tony Martin stable and it has been for him that he has ridden most of his big-race wins.
Principal Trainer: Tony Martin
Notable Wins:
- Racing Post Handicap Hurdle (Mourne Rambler 2009)
- William Ewart Properties Handicap Hurdle (Sole Bonne Femme 2008)
- Troytown Chase (Royal County Star 2007)
- Ulster Bank Handicap Chase (Royal County Star 2007)
- Porterstown Handicap Chase (Newbay Prop 2006)
- Pertemps Handicap Hurdle Qualifier (Royal All Star 2004)
Early Days
Colgan was initially associated with Pat Martin and started off his riding career on the Flat, having his first outing on the racecourse in September 1997 on a horse called Copper Glen in a claiming race for apprentices at Down Royal. However, his opportunities were limited in those early years and in early 1999, he took his first ride over hurdles and the National Hunt arena would be where he would primarily display his talents in the years ahead.
2002 was the year that Colgan finally got off the mark, riding the Oliver Brady-trained Flint Knapper to success in a maiden hurdle at Fairyhouse in April and that win kick-started his career in no uncertain terms, with him riding eight more winners that year. Included in those wins was his first success in Britain, on Stereo Heights at Sedgefield in September and a memorable double at Down Royal on St Stephan’s Day.
Colgan continued to enjoy similar levels of success for the next number of years, with him a notable victory on the Ger Lyons-trained Royal All Star in the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle Qualifier at Leopardstown in early-January 2004. He upped his game notably in 2005/6, riding a total of 12 winners and while that haul lacked a big-race success, that situation would soon change as it was in 2006/7 that Colgan became more firmly linked with the Tony Martin stable.
An Association With Tony Martin
The new relationship got off to a solid start with the pairing combing for wins with the likes of Best World and After Midnight, but it was well and truly sealed courtesy of the win of Newbay Prop in the valuable Porterstown Handicap Chase at Fairyhouse in early-December. A more than satisfactory first season for the pairing was topped off beautifully by the win of Royal County Star in the valuable Ulster Bank Handicap Chase at the Punchestown Festival.
While 2007/8 was anything but a prolific term for Colgan, with him riding just three winners, the shortage of wins was more than made up for by the fact that one of those wins came in one of the most prestigious handicap chases of the season, the Troytown Chase at Navan, on the Tony Martin-trained Royal County Star.
As had been the case in the previous campaign, the 2008/9 season was more a case of quality over quality with regard to winners for Colgan, with him riding the Arthur Moore-trained Sole Bonne Femme to win the valuable William Ewart Properties Handicap Hurdle at Down Royal in early-November and wrapping up the season with an early win on the Martin-trained Mourne Rambler in the Racing Post Handicap Hurdle at the Fairyhouse Easter Festival.
The 2009/10 started off in somewhat unusual fashion for Colgan, as he was selected to travel to Australia to participate in the Ireland v Australia Jockey Challenge. Having returned from that adventure, Colgan endured a frustrating season, with him having a number of near-misses in big races, perhaps most notably when finishing third on the Willie Harney-trained Leanne in the valuable Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown.
While his luck deserted him in 2009/10, Colgan has more than made up for it thus far in 2010/11. He has already ridden as many winners as he has done in any of the previous four seasons and while he has yet to win a big race this term, that is likely to change in the near future.
Info supplied by Horse Racing Ireland - Updated January 2011
