Image © Healy Racing
Mallow native Donal O’Connor has made a dream start to the 2025/26 point to point season, riding three winners from his first five rides – an impressive 60 percent strike rate.
The 20-year-old, who burst onto the scene when steering the Harley Dunne-trained Brooksway Fair to victory at Umma House in October 2022 on his very first ride between the flags, is now quickly building momentum in his third campaign.
O’Connor’s victories this term has come aboard a trio of promising youngsters. His first win of the season came at Umma House aboard Taranis Dubh, who captured the four-year-old geldings maiden for Kieran Roche.
He doubled-up later that day when guiding Roche's Arklow to success in the five-year-old-and-upwards mares' maiden. Amazingly, his breakthrough double was achieved at the same track where he recorded his very first victory.
O’Connor continued that strong form when landing the four-year-old maiden at Peppards Castle on Saturday aboard Double Ten for Cormac Doyle. The son of Westerner, who was having a third career start, also provided Doyle with his first winner of the new campaign.
“He is a lovely horse and I ride him out every day,” O’Connor said. “He had two runs before that and was just unlucky.
"We thought he had a good chance at Peppards Castle and he stayed galloping well. I thought I was maybe beaten coming to the last, but the other horse unseated. That’s racing.”
O’Connor, who is originally from Mallow in County Cork, is now based in County Wexford. He works full-time for Cormac Doyle in the mornings and spends his afternoons riding out for Luke Murphy.
“I moved up to Wexford a few years ago, I started out riding for Harley Dunne, who gave me my first winner, and I was with him for three years. Then I moved around a bit before settling with Cormac and Luke. I’ve been with Cormac since July and I’m really enjoying it.”
O’Connor also regularly schools for Kieran Roche. “I do a good bit of schooling for Kieran,” he explained. “Usually two evenings a week. He likes to school in the evenings, and that suits me fine.”
O’Connor said he was thrilled to get off the mark early this season.
“I’m over the moon with how it’s started, I just want to keep riding as many as I can now and try to build on it. It’s great to get opportunities on nice young horses.”
Both Taranis Dubh and Arklow were trained by Kieran Roche, and O’Connor was confident heading to Umma House.
“Taranis Dubh is a good type, he battled really well. I knew he had plenty of speed because he’d won a schooling bumper at Monksgrange three weeks before, so I dropped him in, and when I asked him, he picked up nicely. He’s a horse with plenty of ability.
"I think Taranis Dubh has been sold already.
“Arklow is a lovely mare,” he added. “We fancied her on the day. She jumped great and travelled really well throughout. She won fairly handy in the end.”
The success at Umma House meant a lot for O’Connor, given his history there.
“It’s definitely a lucky track for me, my first winner was there, and then to get my first double at the same place, that was special. It’s a lovely track to ride around.”
After a quiet period following his debut season, O’Connor is delighted to be back among the winners.
“I had seven rides my first year, but then things went a bit slow. I was changing yards and just not getting the opportunities. It took a while to settle and find the right people who’d give me a chance, but thankfully I’ve done that now.”
He credits much of his progress to the support of trainers like Doyle, Murphy and Roche, who have helped him rebuild his momentum. Also based at Doyle’s are the injured Jack Hendrick, Sean O’Rourke, Darragh Higgins and Joanne Corish.
“Cormac is very straightforward to ride for. He lets you do your own thing. If you ride the horse at home, he’ll let you ride it in the race, which gives you confidence.”
O’Connor is regularly supported at the races by his girlfriend Rose and their 16-month-old son Joey, and although O’Connor does not come from a racing family, he was around horses from an early age.
“My dad always had ponies and half-breds at home and we did a bit of hunting and showjumping.
“I started off with Eugene O’Sullivan and got the bug there. I used to hunt with the Avondhu and that’s where it all really began.”
Now firmly established in Wexford, O’Connor is looking ahead to the rest of the season with clear goals.
“I just want to keep my head down, ride as many as I can and hopefully be in the mix for the novice title.
“There’s a good bunch of young lads around this year, but there’s plenty of horses to go around in Wexford, so hopefully I can stay busy.”
While point-to-points remain his main focus for now, O’Connor has one eye on the future.
“I love pointing, but I’m fairly light, so if the opportunity came up to turn conditional I’d definitely think about it. For now, I just want to keep gaining experience and make the most of this season.”
With three winners already on the board, the support of leading handlers, O’Connor has made his mark as one of the rising young riders to watch this season.
