JOCKEY PROFILE

County of origin: Galway 

Assoc. Trainers: Joseph O'Brien, Eugene O’Sullivan, Robert Tyner, Gordon Elliott, Charles Byrnes, Pat Doyle, Colin McKeever, Paurick O'Connor.  

Significant horses (selected): Edwulf, Any Second Now, Zemsky, Minella Rocco, Chicago Grey, Kilcruit, Joe Blake, Gonebeyondrecall, Coolnahilla, Reine Des Reines, Death Duty, Vision Des Flos, Rapid Deployment, Balnaslow, Top Twig, Tyrone Golden Rain, Media Queen. 

Did you know:

From Tubber, County Galway, Derek O’Connor has long been recognised as one of the best amateur jockeys Ireland has ever produced. As well as being a potent force when riding under rules, being crowned Champion Amateur in the 2003/04 season, Derek has rewritten the record books in point-to-points on numerous occasions and has won more races than any other rider in that sphere. He also boasts a fine record at the Cheltenham Festival. 

Derek became the first rider to notch up his 1,000 point-to-point winners when successful on the Pat Doyle-trained Death Duty in February of 2015.

Derek has six Cheltenham Festival winners to his name after the 2024 renewal. He memorably rode two winners at the 2011 festival, taking the National Hunt Chase on Chicago Grey and the Hunters’ Chase on Zemsky. He won the National Hunt Chase for a second time when partnering Jonjo O’Neill’s Minella Rocco to success in 2016 and aded to his Cheltenham Festival tally when winning the 2019 Kim Muir Handicap Chase on the Ted Walsh-trained Any Second Now. 

At the Cheltenham Festival in 2024, he won the National Hunt Chase on the Emmet Mullins-trained Corbetts Cross and the Kim Muir Handicap Chase on Gavin Cromwell's Inothewayurthinkin. His bid to become the first rider to win all three amateur riders' races at the same Festival narrowly failed when finishing runner-up on Its On The Line, another trained by Emmet Mullins, in the Hunters' Chase. O'Connor and the late John Oaksey are the only two riders to win all three races in their careers. 

Aside from his victories at the Cheltenham Festival, Derek is no stranger to notable success at the biggest Irish racecourses. His biggest winner came at Leopardstown in February, 2018 where he won the Unibet Irish Gold Cup on the Joseph O'Brien-trained Edwulf for which he won the inaugural Horse Racing Ireland 'Ride of the Year' Award.

Derek rode his 1200th point-to-point winner on Nelly's Money for Robert Tyner at Dromahane on December 30, 2018. 

Derek won the Grade 1 Champion Bumper at the Punchestown Festival for the first time on the Willie Mullins-trained Kilcruit in April 2021. 

Updated: March 15, 2024