Derek O'Connor

Tom Cleary has said that he would be the first man to raise a glass to the connections of Oh My Word at Cheltenham after confirming that owner Seamus Ross has moved the leading fancy for the Champion Bumper to his old ally Tony Martin.  Cleary enjoyed his greatest day as a trainer when Oh My Word produced a spellbinding performance to win the Listed Future Champions Bumper at Navan under Derek O'Connor last month.  In doing so, Oh My Word landed back-to-back bumper wins at the track and joined...

A jockey coaching programme that will see five qualified jockey coaches provide mentoring and specialised skills coaching across a range of subject areas to support and enhance the career development of all licensed jockeys in Ireland was launched by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI)'s equuip on Thursday. All five jockey coaches are former riders. The coaches and their regions are as follows: Nina Carberry (Meath and North regions), Paddy Flood and Niall McCullagh (East and Midlands regions), Robbie Moran (South region), and Derek O'Connor (Western region). Former champion jockey Barry Geraghty,...