Dane O'Neill (born 1 August 1975) is a retired Irish

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

, who won over 1,800 races in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

over a 25-year career, including the 2015 Commonwealth Cup at

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, about 25 miles west of London. Ascot is used for thoroughbred horse racing, and it hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 races and three Gra ...

Career

O'Neill was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, but brought up in Monkstown,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

. His uncle was a trainer, and his family had always been interested in racing. He was a skilled

showjumper Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Equest ...

in his youth, and also rode 24 winners in pony races. He moved to Britain aged 17 and spent his early career riding for Richard Hannon Sr. His first winner was Port Sunlight, at

Sandown Park Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse racin ...

on 15 July 1993. Winners were slow to come, and in his first three seasons, he only rode seven. His career took a step forward in 1996 when he won the apprentice jockeys’ championship with 67 wins. For Hannon, he won several big sprint races on Bold Edge, including the

Cork and Orrery Stakes The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. Three-year-olds foaled in the Southern Hemisphere are also eligible. It i ...

and the Diadem Stakes in 1999 and his first

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (motorsport), a regulation set of the FIA for series-production touring cars used in motorsport. * Group One Thoroughbred horse races, the leading e ...

, the

Prix Maurice de Gheest The Prix Maurice de Gheest is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,300 metres (about 6½ furlongs), and it is s ...

in August 2000. He also won the

Jersey Stakes The Jersey Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled to take place ea ...

at the 1999 Royal Ascot on Lots of Magic. 2003 was his most successful year with 110 winners. These included Airwave in the Group 2 Temple Stakes for Henry Candy, and another

winner, Macadamia in the

Royal Hunt Cup The Royal Hunt Cup is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to ...

for

James Fanshawe James Fanshawe is a British racehorse trainer. Based at Pegasus Stables in Newmarket, he has saddled 26 Group 1 winners. Although training horses mainly on the flat, he holds a dual licence and trained two winners of the Champion Hurdle. Back ...

. In total, he won over £1.3 million in prize money during the year. It was five years before he reached 100 winners or £1 million in prize money again, aided by wins in the Stewards' Cup for William Haggas on Conquest I. He spent a period as stable jockey to Henry Candy. Then, in October 2012, he was appointed second jockey to Sheikh Hamdan al Maktoum, behind Paul Hanagan. The Maktoum partnership led him to the biggest prize of his career – the first Commonwealth Cup at

in 2015 on Muhaarar trained by Charlie Hills. On Mukhadram he finished third in the 2014

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot ...

. By the end of 2017, he had nearly 1,700 career victories in Britain, and became the seventh most prolific winner among current jockeys on the retirement of

Jimmy Fortune Jimmy Fortune (born March 11, 1955) is an American country music singer from Nelson County, Virginia. Fortune sang tenor for The Statler Brothers for 21 years, and wrote the song " Elizabeth" for the group. When the Statler Brothers disbanded, h ...

. O'Neill announced his retirement from riding in March 2024. He had suffered serious injuries in a fall at

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

in July 2023 and was forced to retire on medical grounds. He rode 1,889 winners in Great Britain.

Statistics

Flat wins in Great Britain by year

Major wins

Great Britain * Commonwealth Cup – (1) '' Muhaarar (2015)'' * Diamond Jubilee Stakes- (1) ''Bold Edge (1999)'' * British Champions Sprint Stakes – (1) ''Bold Edge (1999)'' France *

– ''Bold Edge (2000)'' United Arab Emirates *

Jebel Hatta The Jebel Hatta is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually since 2000 at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Raced on turf, it is open to horses four-years-old and up who were bred in the Northern Hemisphere and to horses three-ye ...

– (2) – ''Alfareeq (2022, 2023)'' * Al Quoz Sprint – (1) '' Danyah (2023) ''

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Dane 1975 births Living people Irish jockeys Equestrians from County Cork Equestrians from County Dublin People from Monkstown, County Cork Lester Award winners