She may have been the first female to win Ireland's apprentice title, but it didn't guarantee her success at the next level, writes Brian O'Connor
CATHY GANNON is currently at home in Newbury, like the rest of us peering out at snow, and wondering when she can get back to work. Except unlike most of her colleagues, the Dublin-born jockey is not too bothered by all these cancelled race meetings.
A fall Gannon took at Redcar in June resulted in a shoulder that kept popping out of its socket. But she postponed surgery until November. On Christmas Eve she was able to throw away her sling, and physio starts in a few days. She hopes to resume riding again next month. And she is anticipating that like never before.
It was at the end of 2004 that the then 23-year-old rider looked to have the racing world at her feet. Just crowned the first female champion apprentice in Ireland, with 32 winners, Gannon spent much of the winter picking up awards, including the inaugural Irish TimesSportswoman of the year prize.
Based at the hugely powerful Curragh stables of John Oxx, life was very good indeed for the native of Donaghmede on Dublin’s northside. She owned her house in Portarlington, and even a legendary figure like Mick Kinane said of his young colleague: “We’re talking about a very determined young lady. She has had to fight her corner all her life and that will stand her in good stead.”
Kinane was more right than he possibly knew. The following year saw Gannon’s winner tally halved and the full realisation that an apprentice title is no guarantee of reaching the top as a fully-fledged professional. She gave it a little more time, but even Oxx eventually advised her to look at moving abroad.
“It was very hard moving to England. I’m a real home person, we’re a close family, and all my friends were here,” Gannon said yesterday.
“I grew up at Oxx’s. I spent eight years there and I loved my time. Mr and Mrs Oxx were extremely good to me. Even now, if I’m home for a week, I’ll go and ride out there. So saying goodbye was very hard.
“I remember getting off the boat, and not having a clue which way to drive,” she added.
Her initial direction was to Yorkshire and Kevin Ryan’s yard. The welcome was warm, but any chance she got Gannon was on the plane home. That might have been comforting, but it didn’t promise much for the future.
“I used to keep reading the paper about what was going on in racing in Ireland. One day, Tadhg O’Shea (another former champion apprentice) just told me to forget about that. I wasn’t going back, and I would have to concentrate on what was happening here.
“It’s something that happens to a lot of apprentices in Ireland, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or a girl. Racing is so competitive in Ireland, and, with no claim, the majority will struggle. It didn’t help either that they put the minimum weight up to 8-4 and I was one of the few able to do 7-12,” she said.
Gannon reckons it took her two full years to feel settled in Britain. She left the north and went south to Lambourn where she started riding out for former England football international Mick Channon. Then she started riding for David Evans, who is based in Wales. A certain routine developed, and with that came security. Last year was her best, with 48 winners. But it’s a tough grind for any professional jockey in Britain.
“I’ve got an ’06 car and it has done 150,000 miles already. Travelling is a big thing here. In Ireland, jockeys club together to drive for the races and you might end up having to do the actual driving only once a week. Here, everybody is going all over the place and you end having to drive yourself all the time.
“I ride out for David Evans once a week and that’s a two-hour drive to his place. I’ll usually have a quick nap after riding out and then go racing.
“That’s what is different over here. There is so much racing, and so many rides, not like in Ireland where there are so many jockeys fighting for a small number of rides. The racing can get really tight in Ireland. Here, we look out for each other a little more,” Gannon said.
The all-weather tracks at Southwell or Wolverhampton may not be the most glamorous locations but in a sport that only counts winners, they provide vital opportunities.
It means a return to Ireland to resume race-riding doesn’t figure prominently on her agenda. Not one for long-term targets, Gannon’s focus is simply on getting her shoulder in shape and trying to achieve a tally of winners similar to last year.
“I think I’ll be staying in England, at least until I finish riding. I like it a lot more now. When I am finished, I might go home, ride out at Oxx’s and maybe try and find something within racing. But that’s a long way away yet,” she said.
In the meantime, however, expect Cathy Gannon to fight her corner, wherever it might be. Kinane’s judgment, after all, is famously accurate in most things.
