Orla Tynan storms to first win onboard grandfather-owned Solomon Coop
The 33/1 shot beat Si Senior to triumph at Fairyhouse
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Orla with her grandfather Matty after winning onboard Solomon Coop
Orla Tynan hailed a special family moment as she rode her first career winner onboard Solomon Coop – a horse owned and trained by her grandfather Matty.
The four-year-old priced at 33/1 cruised home to take the spoils in the House Restaurant Apprentice Handicap at Fairyhouse ahead of Si Senior and pre-race favourite Alto Sax.
It was a brilliant performance from the 18-year-old jockey, in what was just her fourth race, as she brought Solomon Coop home with a comfortable gap of two-and-a-half lengths in the 1m2f contest.
And when she passed the finishing post, Tynan, who is an apprentice with trainer Andy Slattery, could barely comprehend that she’d become a winner for the first time.
“Happiness,” she said when asked what her initial emotions were. “I knew I’d won but I didn’t believe it.
“I thought to myself, ‘did I win?’ Even though I knew I did, I didn’t feel like it had actually happened to me. It’s just my fourth ride.
“I’m delighted. Thanks to everyone who has helped me out along the way.”
🗣️ "I couldn't be happier."
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 29, 2025
🗣️ "It's the proudest day of my life."
A lovely interview with Orla Tynan who partnered Solomon Coop, trained by her grandfather Matty, to enjoy her first career victory @Fairyhouse tonight @irishkor
A special family moment 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/C6Sd0n136O
It was a composed ride by Tynan, who felt the horse handled his first ride over the distance well.
“The step up in trip helped him, definitely,” she continued to Racing TV.
“He stayed on very well at the end. We didn’t know if he would stay on the trip, but it was definitely the right thing to do for him. He handled it well.
“He runs well over that [distance] and over a mile too. He’s a good horse to get a spin on.”
Asked about how she went about the ride, she added: “I was told to jump out and go forward and see how he was carrying me. He was happy sitting there in third and second and then I let him go straight on.
“And then turning in, I just pulled out a bit to the side and let him go.”
Watching on at Fairyhouse was Tynan’s grandfather Matty, who bought Solomon Coop from Eamonn O'Connell earlier this month to help with Orla’s development, and he was thrilled to see his granddaughter succeed.
“It’s the proudest day of my life, it really is,” he said.
“Orla lives for horses, she loves them. Half six in the morning, no problem.
Up and out, all she wants is to be with the horses and we thought we’d try and help her.
“Coming here today, we didn’t think he was going to win anything, but we wanted to give Orla the experience.
“If you’re practicing for hurling all your life, you have to play the match to get the experience. There’s no point in practicing all the time, you have to get out there and do it, and Orla did very well.
“It’s lovely for a small family outfit to have a winner around Fairyhouse. It really means a lot, especially when it’s your granddaughter who’s ridden it. How many people can say that?
“And I think it’s good for racing seeing the small fella having success. It’ll give the people watching at the tracks and on tele a bit of interest. It’s good for the sport.”
Solomon Coop’s only other win came at Dundalk in the Book Online @ DundalkStadium.com Maiden back in February.