Blighted by numerous injuries for the better part of 2015, the 41-year-old Irish jockey seems to have made a solid comeback in the 2017 Cheltenham Festival. Setting off at the Irish point to point circuits, Fehily moved to the UK in 1998 where he gained significant experience; landing his first victory in the first year aboard Ivy Boy. The father of one, known to have a laid-back personality, was born to a Cork farmer. Despite having no family background in horse racing, Fehily has enjoyed a remarkably successful career.
The Journey to the top
Fehily became a professional in 2000 following 16 wins in the previous year, his second campaign since settling in the UK. He rode 12 winners in his first campaign. This saw him appointed second jockey to Jonjo O’Neill. His victory in 2008 when he rode Air Force One in the Champion Novice Chase at Punchestown was the real career takeoff that saw him amass huge prizes of up to £900,000.
Becoming the first jockey to Emma Lavelle in 2012, he has registered several heart-stopping successes since, with an impressive 21% strike rate, which is undoubtedly one of the most successful campaigns so far. For close to 20 years now, Fehily has ridden over 1000 winners in UK in under 7000 rides.
Notable achievements
The 2008/2009 season was the most successful in his career where he finished 4th in the Champion Jockey race with 89 winners in the campaign. Fehily may be one of the circuit’s older jockeys but he seems to have matured with age and is notably very reliable. His patience seems to have paid off. This year alone, in just a week, he won the Queen Mother Champion Chase aboard Special Tiara following an earlier victory riding Buveur D’Air at the Champion Hurdle in Cheltenham. From these two, he might bag at least £ 400,000 in prize money. Not bad for a guy who is at 40+1!
