By Emma Berry
Try as they might – and by golly the good folk at Epsom tried – you can't hold back the rain.
A day which should have dawned full of hope and expectation after so much attention to detail in improving the Derby Day experience instead brought black clouds and bluster across the Epsom Downs. Good for the farmers, not so for the frolickers.
But no amount of rain could dampen the spirits of Tom and Kathleen Whelan, decked out in pink to support their son Ronan riding in the second colours of the Magnier family for the stable that has dominated the Derby since the turn of this century. And what a show he put on for them and the bedraggled masses balancing the need for shelter with the desire to watch the race which has absorbed racing fans for 247 years.
Handily positioned throughout, Christmas Day and Ronan Whelan took up the running from the weakening Action to surge home down the middle of the track, their toiling rivals spreadeagled across almost the entire width of the track.
“I just couldn't believe it, I nearly ran around in circles there,” shouted the jockey's highly excited father. To make an unforgettable moment even more special, Ballydoyle's Pat Keating ensured that Tom was the person charged with leading in his son to the most famous winner's circle in the sport.
It is 14 years since Ronan Whelan, now 33, was crowned champion apprentice, having started out in the famed academy of Jim Bolger. But his reference during the post-Derby press conference as to how his parents had been with him “through thick and thin” speaks to the start-stop-start career that has led to this hugely enjoyable moment at the summit.
“Ronan was stable jockey to Mick Halford until he handed in his licence,” said Tom, who had earlier enjoyed witnessing the victory of Bay City Roller in the Coolmore Coronation Cup. Through the family's Church View Stable, he had sold the son of New Bay as a yearling for his long-time friend and client John Connaughton, who died in January.
He continued, “I think he then rang up Chris [Armstrong] in the office at Ballydoyle to see was there a job going, riding out as much, because there weren't that many yards left on the Curragh. And they said 'Come on down', and, sure, the rest is history.”
Indeed it is, for in the nine months since Ronan joined the team at Ballydoyle he has won Group 1 races aboard Precise and Hawk Mountain before landing one of the most coveted races of them all.
The Derby-winning jockey said, “The race couldn't have really gone any smoother, and obviously when you're riding the lesser-fancied ones, if things don't work out, it's not the end of the world, so there's not as much pressure on you.
“I can't thank everyone enough who's been dealing with the horse. They had him in great condition, and everyone who's been behind me as well, I can't thank them enough.
“The more rain that fell, the more confidence I got in him, and he's such an uncomplicated horse. It's Christmas Day in June for me.”
Ronan continued, “Jason Hart came up to me in the jockeys' room and I was sitting down and I had the pink colours on, and above me was [the name] Seamus Heffernan. Seamus Heffernan sat where I was sitting, and Jason said to me, 'Seamus Heffernan won the Derby on Anthony Van Dyck in those colours', and he said to me, in his Scottish accent, 'Ronnie, I think you're going to win the Derby, I can feel it.'
“It might sound weird, but I said to my girlfriend when we were flying over here, 'I feel something big is going to happen this weekend'. That sounds stupid but I had a good feeling coming into it, and the vibes were good because I was riding for Aidan O'Brien in the Derby. I think when you're riding for him in any race, you've got a good chance.”
He added, “It hasn't really quite sunk in yet. I'm sitting here next to Aidan O'Brien doing an interview after winning the Derby. It feels quite surreal.”
There is though one man the jockey felt was even more deserving of his gratitude, and his voice wavered a little as he said, “Dad has been my best friend since I don't know how long. He's been through thick and thin with me, he's had to put up with a lot with me too. These are good days, but there's a lot of bad days too, and him and mum and a lot of other people have always stuck by me, and to have him lead me in was everything.
“I said to him, 'Dad, you're leading in your son winning the Derby.' It's special. We do all the sales together and I guarantee there'll be no prouder man going around the sales this season than Big Tom.”
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