Just over four years since making the move to Australia, Irish ex-pat Robbie Dolan has very much solidified his position in the extremely competitive Sydney jockey ranks and took out Saturday’s G3 Summer Cup aboard Spirit Ridge (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) for former master Mark Newnham.
The 24-year-old graduated from the Racing Academy and Centre of Education in Ireland and after trying to break into the Irish jockey ranks, he made the move Down Under due to a lack of opportunities in his home country.
“I started back in Ireland in the RACE Academy when I was 17,” Dolan told TDN AusNZ. “It’s a nine-month training program and they basically taught me how to ride.
“I had done a little bit of riding before that but that’s where I started to really grow my passion.
“I was apprenticed in Ireland for probably two or three seasons with little rides and not a lot of success so I decided to make the switch to Australia in 2016.”
Robbie Dolan
With his grandfather the Group 1-winning jockey Peadar Matthews and his brother a trainer in America, Dolan has a strong family link to racing.
“I had a big family influence,” he said. “My grandfather was a Group-1 winning jockey years ago and my father was working as a jockey for years and my brother was a trainer in America so it was definitely part of the blood I reckon.”
“My grandfather was a Group 1 winning jockey years ago and my father was working as a jockey for years and my brother was a trainer in America so it was definitely part of the blood I reckon.” - Robbie Dolan
Switching countries as a young jockey is no easy feat and Dolan said he found it hard adjusting to a new life and kick-starting his career in Australia.
“I moved over here in September, 2016 and it wasn’t until April or May in 2017 that I actually got my first ride, so it was a long process of starting with nothing and working my way up, earning all the contacts along the way,” he said.
“I was originally in Melbourne but then I made the switch to Sydney because I couldn’t get my license in Melbourne. I eventually got my license with Mark Newnham and the rest is history.
Mark Newnham
“It’s still very different, the way the trackwork is run over here is completely different to Ireland.
“Everything is on the clock and there are round gallops everywhere whereas in Ireland you’ve got lots of straight gallops.
“So it is very different and it was definitely hard to adjust in that sense but you definitely have more of a life over here I think.”
Linking up with Newnham has been the biggest aspect of his success in Sydney, and Dolan believes the Warwick Farm-based trainer has been the number one biggest mentor for him across his career.
“When I first came to Sydney I was actually sleeping in Richard Litt’s spare room so I stayed there for nearly a month I’d say and eventually when I signed on for Mark we were able to get somewhere to live.
“Mark would be the main person that has helped me, he’s really changed my life.
“Wayne Harris was my manager all the way through my apprenticeship and I’ve just made the change to Mark Guest but I’d say, Mark Newnham, he’s definitely the number one.”
Having been based with Newnham at Warwick Farm, Dolan has been able to ride out with a number of leading jockeys throughout his time in Sydney and he said getting that experience is invaluable for any young jockey, especially ones from a different country.
“The likes of Josh Parr and Blake Shinn were riding a lot of work for Mark when I first started so it was good to pick up little Australian things,” Dolan said. “Australian horses are very different to European horses, you have to hold them with a little bit of a tighter grip and a little bit different.
“It’s hard to explain, but riding with a couple of the boys, you pick up little things like that.
“You never stop learning, it’s very easy to pick up bad habits so it’s good to be riding with those guys.”
Since steering his first winner in April, 2017, Dolan has outridden his claim, been crowned Sydney’s champion apprentice twice, scored a total of 198 victories including five at stakes grade.
Dolan winning on Spirit Ridge (GB) on Saturday
He said he never expected things to go this well when he first arrived in Australia but now that they have, he has no plans to return to Ireland any time soon.
“I just wanted to have a crack and I didn’t know how far I’d go but I‘ve always had a bit of confidence in my riding and I had a good grounding in Ireland,” Dolan said.
“With some of the trainers that I worked for, I’ve ridden all sorts of horses and I had plenty of experience riding pullers and stuff like that, so it was definitely a help to get me in with a lot of trainers.
“I think I just wanted more experience and just wanted a few race rides and I suppose I couldn’t have expected it to go this well.
“I haven’t actually considered going back, I don’t think there’s much back there at the moment.
“Although I love watching the racing, there’s just not a lot of opportunities and I think I’d be crazy to leave everything I’ve worked so hard for and go back to where I was.
“I’ve got a house here, got a girlfriend and a couple of dogs so I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere any time soon. But I would love to ride internationally, I’d love to go to somewhere in Asia to ride for a bit more experience so hopefully, down the line we can achieve that.”
Despite having ridden five stakes winners, including Splintex (Snitzel) to win the G2 Arrowfield Sprint, Dolan said his biggest highlight so far was riding his first winner aboard Victory Anthem (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}) in a 1400-metre maiden at Nowra.
Splintex
“I’d say my big race wins are always big highlights and there’s plenty of bad days in this game so when you get a Group winner or something like that, it’s definitely a nice turning point,” Dolan said. “But my first winner out here was one I’ll never forget.
“It was after leaving everything behind and taking a big risk coming over here. I was kind of the first apprentice to really do it and then when I rode that first winner it was a massive relief, it was very emotional for me.”
Looking ahead, Dolan’s goals are to remain in Sydney, ride constantly and continue to work his way up the Sydney jockey ranks, and if there was one race he could win, he said it’s hard to look past The Everest.
“I’d love to just remain in Sydney and ride in the metropolitan area but I’d love to be more consistent with my riding,” Dolan said.
“I’m working very hard on it at the moment and it’s a very competitive scene in Sydney, there are some really, really good riders in there. It definitely brings out the best in you.
“For big race wins, I’d say The Everest would be one of them. It’s a race that not a lot of jockeys grew up watching because it didn’t exist but I’m sure in plenty of years to come it will be one that younger riders will always achieve to win.
“It’s just one of those races that has some buzz about it.”
Dolan aspires to one day win The Everest
