Principal Jockeys: Pat Smullen, Davy Moran, Wayne Lordan, John Cullen
Notable Wins:
- Ladbrokes.com Premier Handicap (Raise Your Heart 2009)
- Chartwell Fillies' Stakes (San Sicharia 2009)
- Muhtathir Handicap (Miss Gorica 2009)
- Ryan's Cleaning Events Specialists Hurdle (Raise Your Heart 2008)
- Birdcatcher Nursery (Fourpenny Lane 2007)
- Phoenix Sprint Stakes (One Won One 2002)
- Glencairn Stakes (One Won One 2002 + 2001)
- Ruby Stakes (One Won One 2001)
- HH The President Cup (One Won One 2001)
- Knockaire Stakes (One Won One 1999)
- Smurfit Paribas Bank Premier Handicap (One Won One 1998)
60 Seconds With Joanna Morgan:
Q: What has been the most memorable win of your training career thus far?
A: I suppose it would have to be either San Sicharia at Lingfield earlier this year or the day One Won One won a Group 3 at the Curragh. Any win in a Group race is special.
Q: Do you get the same thrill from training a winner as you used to get from riding a winner?
A: Yes, definitely. With riding, you jump on the horse, jump off it a few minutes later, then you can head to the pub. When you train them to win a race, the sense of relief is unbelievable as there is so much that can go wrong with horses and the trainer is responsible for getting it right. It doesn’t even end after winning the race as you still have to wait and see if they are sound in the morning!
Q: So many of your horses seem to get better and better the older they get. What is your secret to keeping them so enthusiastic and progressive as they get older and wiser?
A: Keeping them happy and sound. As well as that, I don’t ask them any hard questions at home.
Q: What is your horse to follow, either for this jumps season or for the 2010 Flat season?
A: Raise Your Heart for the jumps, but he is likely to run on the Flat before then.
In the last six years or so, Joanna Morgan has established herself as, horse-for-horse, one of the shrewdest trainers in the country. She invariably gets the very best from all of her horses and has been rewarded in recent seasons by being sent a better class of animal that had often been the case previously.
Early Days:
Morgan first came to prominence in the racing world as the leading lady jockey of her generation, riding over 200 winners and becoming the first woman to ride in an Irish Classic. She first took out her license to train in 1985, but it wasn’t until she retired from race riding in 1997 that she concentrated on the art of preparing horses to race. At first, she combined training a small number of racehorses with preparing two-year-olds to be sent to the breeze-up sales and without doubt the star performer of this period was the tremendous prolific and durable One Won One.
Star Performer: One Won One
The son of Naevus started his racing career as a two-year-old with Joanna in the saddle, running four times without success. However, the following season the pair teamed up for two wins in what was Joanna’s final season in the saddle and that would prove to be a sign of things to come. As a four-year-old, One Won One won no less than three times, including a premier handicap at the Curragh, as well as finishing an unlucky second in the prestigious Scurry Handicap at the same track. Even better was to follow in 1999, with him winning a handicap and a listed race, as well as finishing in the frame in a Group 3 and a number of decent handicaps. With him now established as a solid listed/Group 3-class performer, One Won One spent the next six seasons running his usual game races and provided his connections with numerous winning memories, perhaps most notably when winning the listed HH The President Cup at Abu Dhabi in 2001 and the Group 3 Phoenix Sprint Stakes at the Curragh in 2002, as well as bringing them around the world by running in America, Hong Kong and the UAE. He even tried his hand at hurdling as a 10-year-old, with a third-place finish in a maiden hurdle at Clonmel being the pick of his four efforts over obstacles. Tragically, the then 11-year-old was killed whilst still enjoying his racing in 2005, but the impact he had on Morgan’s career will never be forgotten.
Star Performers: Dbest & Portant Fella
Luckily for Morgan, in the years immediately preceding the death of One Won One, she unveiled a number of horses that would prove to be lucrative performers for her in the years ahead. In 2002, Sophiyah gained the first of what would end up being a total of six career wins, improving from a rating of 39 all the way up to 71. It was also in that year that Dbest made his first appearances for Morgan and he would go on to win no less than 13 races (four on the Flat, four over hurdles and five over fences) over the next seven years and he is still going strong at the age of nine. Another lucrative performer to appear at that time that is still going strong was Portant Fella, who has won no less than 15 times (seven on the Flat, six over hurdles and two over fences). In 2004, she first raced Orpailleur who has won eight times on the Flat and progressed from a mark of 57 to his current career high of 93, as well as Jawad, who has won on eight occasions since then (four on the Flat, three over hurdles and one over fences.
Star Performers: Fourpenny Lane, Miss Gorica & Raise Your Heart
In more recent years the conveyor belt of progressive and durable handicappers has continued to roll out from Joanna Morgan’s yard and indeed, the class of those horses has been raised a number of notches. Fourpenny Lane has proven to be a highly-consistent performer since winning the valuable and prestigious Birdcatcher Nursery at Naas in 2007. Miss Gorica has progressed from a 60-rated performer to a career-high of 105, gaining compensation for a number of near misses in high-class handicaps when winning the Muhtathir Handicap at Nad Al Sheba last January. Raise Your Heart has already won his connections six races including a listed race over hurdles and a premier handicap on the Flat and he looks as though he could well progress even further in the months and seasons to come. San Sicharia also gave Morgan a memorable win in the Group 3 Chartwell Fillies' Stakes at Lingfield back in May.
A notable feature of Morgan’s team this season has been the addition of a number of well-bred two-year-olds to her team. Such arrivals have been long overdue and thus far she has more than justified the faith that the horses owners have put in her. The Michael Ryan-owned Moran Gra won a maiden at Leopardstown in June before finishing fourth in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, while En Un Clin D’Oeil made a winning debut at Cork before being listed-placed at Fairyhouse a fortnight later.
The Future:
With the quality of young horse being sent to the yard constantly on the rise, as well as having a hardened team of established handicappers at her disposal, Joanna Morgan is in a fantastic position to continue her relentless rise up through the Irish training ranks and as she proved when she was a jockey, she is not one to underestimate at any level of competition.
