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Adam Caffrey came into the 2024 flat season with two goals – beating his previous year’s tally of winners and lifting the Champion Apprentice title, writes Paul Martin.

The first of those has already been ticked off and he is now in the thick of a thrilling battle to make the second a reality.

A Friday night treble at Dundalk in March set the tone for the best campaign the promising 21-year-old has enjoyed to date, with wins on Derby weekend and in the September meeting at Laytown also among the highlights for the man from Clonalvy.

He is locked in a three-way tussle with Wayne Hassett and close friend James Ryan for the right to claim the prestigious apprentice crown and admits it has been a topic of conversation in the weighing room.

“All the young lads get on really well together,” he said. “I get on particularly well with James Ryan and Robert Murphy as we are very close, we all live close together and share lifts everywhere.

“We grew up together and knew each other before we had jockey licences. We all get on well, myself, James, Wayne, all the other lads as well.

“There will always be a bit of chat about it (Champion Apprentice) and when you bump into people here and there, they will always say something to you about it.

“I’d love to win it, I was second in it last year and only beaten by three in the end. It made me a bit hungrier to go again and try and get it done this year. 

"It’s what all the top lads do on their way to the top, so it would definitely mean a lot to get it done.”

Caffrey grew up balancing pony riding with playing soccer and Gaelic football before gaining valuable experience riding out during school holidays in his late teens.

Having caught the bug, he set about seriously pursuing his ambitions for a life in the saddle and took a job with Ado McGuinness, who has been an invaluable source of expertise.

“Ado is only 25 minutes from where I live and Stephen Mooney, an apprentice jockey who lives very close to me, was there at the time,” he recalls.

“He brought me over on my holidays and Saturday mornings. I learned an awful lot in the space of a year and I’ve been there ever since.

“I finished school, got my licence when I was 17 and Ado has been a pleasure to work for throughout.

“He has been very good to me this season in particular, he has given me as many rides as he can to try and help me do it (win the apprentice title). It would be really good to win it for him as well, as he has done so much for me.”

Caffrey had to be patient for his first success, which came at his local track in Navan with his parents watching on, but he has more than made up for lost time in the years since.

An eye-catching win on Star Harbour in the Ragusa Handicap at the Curragh helped him put his name on the map this summer, shortly after he had landed a success on Tachos in a race that meant a lot to him at Gowran Park.

“That was my first ride for Mr (Dermot) Weld, so for it to be a winner was pretty special,” he said.

“It was pretty nerve-wracking because of who he is but he’s a really nice man to ride for, he keeps everything quite simple and filled me with loads of confidence.”

Whether Caffrey is successful or not in pursuit of the Champion Apprentice crown, he has his sights set on continuing his progress in the years to come with the Champion Jockey-elect among those he is learning from along the way.
 

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“The more I was getting into the flat, Colin (Keane) was doing really well – he still is – and I definitely still look up to him,” he said.

“He’s a superb athlete and his professionalism is very good. He’s very good at what he does and he’s a humble guy as well.

“For me, I haven’t got that many left on my claim and when it comes to the time of hopefully losing that, it’s just about keeping going.

“Those first couple of years without your claim can be quite tough but I’ll keep my head down and see where it takes me. Looking further into the future, I’d love to be at the top of the game one day.”