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O’Regan reveals end of Johnson linkup
Sunday 18 April 2010Denis O’Regan has revealed he will not be riding for Howard Johnson next season.
The Irish jockey has teamed up with the County Durham trainer and owner Graham Wylie for the last three campaigns.
He replaced Paddy Brennan for the start of the 2007-08 season and had a successful first year, winning the World Hurdle on Inglis Drever and the Arkle Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival.
‘The contract is not being renewed for next season. I’ve had a terrific three years and I’ve ridden so many good horses. Graham Wylie and Howard Johnson have put me up on some fantastic horses,’ said O’Regan.
‘I’ve had a great time and I had the real pleasure of riding a champion in Inglis Drever. Now that chapter is closed in my career and I’ve got to move on.
‘I’ve not made any decisions on my plans for next season. I’m going to see what’s going to happen but I’ve just got to keep my head down and keep riding away as much as I can.’
O’Regan has ridden 66 winners so far this season and was runner-up on Black Apalachi in the John Smith’s Grand National for Irish trainer Dessie Hughes at Aintree last week.
Someone on the Betfair Forum announced this about 6 weeks ago.
I thought it was folly but my word i can’t believe he is gone.
Not sure he has been near his best this past year.
Will he go freelance in the UK
EDIT*
Are there any of the higher-profile yards over here that are looking for a stable jock at the moment?
He used to ride a lot for Noel before he went to England but Davy Condon might be ahead of him in the queue there now after his rides on Pandorama and Go Native earlier on in the winter. Taaffe is the only one I can think of off the top of my head that doesn’t appear to have a regular stable jockey at the moment.
Wouldn’t surprise me if he ended up at Henrietta Knight’s.
"Imperial Call" wrote: He used to ride a lot for Noel before he went to England but Davy Condon might be ahead of him in the queue there now after his rides on Pandorama and Go Native earlier on in the winter. Taaffe is the only one I can think of off the top of my head that doesn’t appear to have a regular stable jockey at the moment.
Paddy Flood rides most of Taaffe’s though doesn’t he.
Who’s next for Johnson then?
I believe he and the Wylie’s have been quoted as liking a certain "size of jockey"!
Last incumbents were Lee,Brennan and O’Regan
He used to ride a lot for Noel before he went to England but Davy Condon might be ahead of him in the queue there now after his rides on Pandorama and Go Native earlier on in the winter. Taaffe is the only one I can think of off the top of my head that doesn’t appear to have a regular stable jockey at the moment.
Paddy Flood rides most of Taaffe’s though doesn’t he.
Paddy rides mostly for Dessie Hughes these days. Taaffe hasn’t really had a regular stable jock since Geraghty went to Henderson’s. Tom Ryan was riding most of his for a while but he seems to have gone off the radar. Mark Walsh comes in for most of Taaffe’s rides these days.
I can’t really think of any reasonably big yard over here without a regular stable jockey at the moment apart from either Taaffe or Colm Murphy who seems to use a plethora of different riders (including O’Regan)
Willie Mullins – Ruby/Townend/Casey/Condon
Noel Meade – Carberry/Condon/Slippers
Harrington – Robbie Power/Geraghty
O’Grady – Andy Mac
Dessie Hughes – Flood/Loughran
Nolan – Squeeky Cawley
Tom Mullins – Russell
Mouse – Russell/Slippers
Elliot – Jason Maguire (mostly in England)
Tony Martin – Ruby/Carberry/Russell/Colgan
Byrnes – Russell/Brian Byrnes
Arthur Moore – Carberry/Russell/Casey
De Bromhead – Lynch
Dreaper – Lynch
Taaffe – Mark Walsh/Flood/Townend/Geraghty
Colm Murphy – Townend/Condon/Geraghty/O’Connor/Russell/FlanaganColm Murphy might be a good shout for O’Regan. Gordon Elliot might be another who could be on the lookout for a regular top pilot. Are there enough opportunities for freelance riders in Ireland?
Condon and Tom Doyle seem to be doing well enough since coming back home.
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Would be a great opportunity for Sam Twiston Davies, top jockey in the making whose proven his class in 2 Grand Nationals
Would think Murphy is happy with the current arrangement – was down at the yard Irish Champion Hurdle weekend and his string didn’t seem overly big, certainly when compared to the likes of Mullins, Meade etc.
He seems focussed on quality over quantity – outside of Voler La Vedette, Big Zeb and Zaarito it’s mainly handicap hurdlers with four or five new bumper horses coming through each year and there’s already a decent jockey attached to the yard in Matt O’Connor though whether the big owners put him up on horses at this stage in his career is another matter.
If O’Regan is looking for a numbers type trainer then Rothwell might be the way to go or if a retainer with a big owner then Gigginstown Stud always seem to be expanding their lot and seem to have some very decent horses coming through bumpers this season.
Very surprised to hear the news about O’Regan’s breaking from the stable, though he has had his fare share of falls and injuries this year. Brian Hughes would be a great replacement or Dougie Costello.
Would think Murphy is happy with the current arrangement – was down at the yard Irish Champion Hurdle weekend and his string didn’t seem overly big, certainly when compared to the likes of Mullins, Meade etc.
He seems focussed on quality over quantity – outside of Voler La Vedette, Big Zeb and Zaarito it’s mainly handicap hurdlers with four or five new bumper horses coming through each year and there’s already a decent jockey attached to the yard in Matt O’Connor though whether the big owners put him up on horses at this stage in his career is another matter.
If O’Regan is looking for a numbers type trainer then Rothwell might be the way to go or if a retainer with a big owner then Gigginstown Stud always seem to be expanding their lot and seem to have some very decent horses coming through bumpers this season.
Murphy seems to go through a quare amount of jockeys on all his top horses. I still think Barry Cash was harsly treated after the ’05 Champion Hurdle but that’s another story.
All the pilots he’s used on his stable stars in the last few years – Walsh, McCoy, Geraghty, Russell & Townend are all retained by other connections so there’s always the chance they’s be claimed to ride other horses in the big races. If Petit Robin had ran in the Champion Chase would Barry have been available for Big Zeb? (That said he did ride Voler La Vedette instead of Caroles Legacy at Cheltenham).
It would only benefit horses like Zaarito in particular to have one regular jockey and O’Regan is as good as there is available. Strawberry O’Connor is a promising young rider but he needs time to ease himself back into the saddle after his horrific ordeal last year. It’ll be a few years yet before he fulfills his undoubted potential. If I was Murphy I’d be on the blower to O’Regan tomorrow morning asking him if he was interested in basing himself in Wexford. Remember when it was rumoured that he’d have to tempt Charlie Swan out of retirement to ride Brave Inca in the ’07 Champion Hurdle when McCoy had to ride Straw Bear? Would he have to do the same next year in the Champion Chase if Barry had to ride Mad Max or Riverside Theatre? Charlie for Big Zeb next year – you heard it hear first!
Most yards in Ireland are scaling back significantly at the moment so I wouldn’t really mind that.
Fair enough IC – think O’Connor’s already won a Grade 1 on Big Zeb so no idea why the owners don’t want him up all the time.
Take your point on regular jockeys – think they just need to do more schooling with Zaarito and try and get him to concentrate, always seem to be relatively soft falls where he doesn’t get his legs out in time etc. but he’s a proper G1 horse for next year if he gets that sorted.
Strawberry had a fall on Big Zeb in the Tied Cottage at Punchestown last year and then Robert Thornton got the mount at Cheltenham where he hit the deck as well. Whether Strawberry would have got back on him at Punchestown is anyone’s guess because he had his awful accident at Thurles in the intervening weeks. I always though it was strange that he never got the mount on Brave Inca in last year’s Champion Hurdle when Dominic Elsworth rode him? Whether that was Colm’s decision or the owners, I don’t know.
I have my doubts whether they’ll ever iron out Zaarito’s jumping either. He is a very small horse and whenever he so much as brushes a fence it just knocks him off balance. A bigger heavier horse is able to absorb the hit better and find a leg. It’s a pity because he definitely has an engine.
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O’Regan will link up with a top trainer in no time and Johnson will be going through jockeys like pairs of socks.- Total Posts 17716
Always thought Dennis to be a top class jockey, with respect to Johnson and Wylie I think Dennis can do better. He deserves to be riding horses with chanes in Grade races rather than expensive ex flat horses who for "whatever" reason do not transfer that ability to NH under Johnsons guidance…
So Howard Johnson not only loses £100K in a recent armed robbery, he now loses a first-rate jockey.
Surely, it’s just mere coincidence that Denis has been seen sporting a black mask and stripey jumper.
No one should believe the rumour that the two events are in any way connected. It’s not as if Denis has ever ridden badly when the stable money has been down, is it?
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