Cathy Gannon (born 21 September 1981) is a retired Irish

flat racing Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all spor ...

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

Life and career

Gannon was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland on 21 September 1981. She learnt to ride on ponies at an early age, and when she was 15, she took the course at the Apprentice Jockey's School, located in

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

. After this, she went to

Curragh The Curragh ( ; ) is a flat open plain in County Kildare, Ireland. This area is well known for horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is on the edge of Kildare town, beside the Japanese Gardens. Pollardstown Fen, the larges ...

, where she joined the stable of

John Oxx John M. Oxx (born 14 July 1950) is a retired Irish trainer of thoroughbred racehorses. By the end of the 2009 season Oxx had trained 35 Group One winners over his career, including the winners of 11 Classic races. He is best known as the trai ...

. Her first ride was at

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

in 1998, where she finished in third place. Later in the same year, at Tipperary, she rode her first winner on Quivelly. She became the first woman to become Irish champion apprentice jockey in 2004 with 33 winners and was awarded the Irish Times Sportswoman of the Year Award. She relocated to England in 2006, where her chief employer was David Evans, and she became the first Irish-born female rider to compete in the Dubai Duty Free

Shergar Cup The Shergar Cup is an annual horse racing event held at Ascot Racecourse, in Ascot, about 25 miles west of London, usually during early August. The race is named in honour of Shergar, the horse that won the 1981 Derby and was killed in an IRA k ...

, after

Hayley Turner Hayley Turner (born 3 January 1983) is a retired England, English jockey who competed in flat racing. Originally from Nottingham, she was based in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket for much of her career. In 2008 Turner became the first woman to ...

dropped out due to injury. She was awarded the Lady Jockey of the Year

Lester Award A Lester Award is one of a range of awards given to jockeys at an annual ceremony in Great Britain. The awards are named in honour of Lester Piggott, an eleven-time British flat racing Champion Jockey who won thirty British Classic Races from 1954 ...

three times - in 2010, 2011 and 2015 - but after breaking all five toes in her left foot at

Lingfield Lingfield can refer to: * Lingfield, County Durham, England, a village * Lingfield, Surrey, England, a village ** Lingfield Park Racecourse ** Lingfield Cricket Club, prominent in the 18th century ** Lingfield railway station, serving the villag ...

on 25 May 2016, she came close to needing amputation. She recovered well enough to be able to walk and ride, but not sufficiently to be able to race ride, and announced her retirement in July 2017. She moved with her family back to Ireland later that year, to become a jockey coach. Her best year had been 2011, when she had 71 winners for a total of £382,841 in prize money and her biggest individual win had been her only

group race Group races, also known as Pattern races, or Graded races in some jurisdictions, are the highest level of races in Thoroughbred horse racing. They include most of the world's iconic races, such as the Derby, Irish Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomp ...

victory on Dingle View in the 2010

Round Tower Stakes The Round Tower Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to tak ...

. Her career total was 440 winners in the UK and Ireland.

References

1981 births Living people Irish female jockeys Equestrians from County Dublin Lester Award winners People from Donaghmede 21st-century Irish sportswomen {{Ireland-horseracing-bio-stub

Life and career

See also

References