At Woodway we are keen to support and encourage enthusiastic youngsters starting their career in the world of racing. Each season we offer a Novice Jockey position, which is a full time position offering fantastic opportunities including riding work, schooling and the chance to ride racing. Previous candidates for this job include Fergus Gregory who has since ridden winners for both Gordon Elliott & Olly Murphy, who he is currently first Conditional jockey to. This year we have had some great applicants for the position and are very happy to report that we have two novice jockeys for the upcoming season.
Charlie Case, 19, British
Charlie has ridden all of his life, including as a member of the Pony Club, going out hunting and now race riding. He has previously ridden out for the likes of Ian Williams, Jonjo O'Neill, Gordon Elliott and his father, National Hunt trainer Ben Case, which was his introduction to racing. This season Charlie hopes to be eligible to apply for his Cat B amateur licence by gaining enough completions and riding a winner in the process! He has had 19 rides to date; 16 pointing and three under rules, four of which were wins! His first ride was at Whitfield point-to-point where he finished 4th and his first winner was at Kimble a year later. Charlie states his favourite race he has ridden in would be "winning as an outsider at Whitfield, just getting up to win by a head". Charlie has shown key elements of being a team-player, always happy to help, and is a quiet rider, building partnerships with every horse he rides and never trying to hurry a horse into the fence.
Jack Power, 18, Irish
Jack has been interested in horses from a young age, happily hunting & showjumping all sorts of horses and ponies for local owners in his childhood before joining the Pony Club. His introduction to racing came from his Uncle, Kieran Gaule, who was a successful jockey with over 150 winners, and he has ridden out for some top trainers including Jim Bolger, Joseph O'Brien & French trainer Emmanuel Clayeux. His favourite jockey is Ruby Walsh as "the way he rides and how successful he has become intrigues me" and he admires Edna Bolger's ideas in training horses. Jack's aim for his debut point-to-point season is to ride a winner and his first memory of racing is his first outing to Leopardstown aged 5, despite not seeing much as he was left with a security guard as his Grandfather was leading up and his Uncle was riding! Jack is a great addition to the team, always cracking a joke! He is an enthusiastic rider, happy to sit on the younger horses and shows great courage; sure to be riding winners soon!
We are looking forward to the 2018/19 season, which is fast approaching, with an enthusiastic and fun team! We hope to see many of you racing soon!