Robert ‘Robbie’ Dunne is a freelance National Hunt jockey, who enjoyed his most successful season, numerically, in 2020/21, when he rode 41 winners. However, while at the time he signalled his intention to appeal against an 18-month ban imposed by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), Dunne, 36, faced the prospect of a lengthy spell on the sidelines and, possibly, the end of his riding career. In December, 2021, he was found guilty on four counts of bullying and harassing fellow jockey Bryony Frost, 26, by an independent disciplinary panel at the BHA, which imposed the ban – the last three months of which were suspended – with immediate effect.
In October 2022 Dunne broke his silence on the matter and what had been a 10 month riding ban (reduced from 18 months) following a narrow win on the Ian Williams-trained Ernesto. He stated that he was truly sorry, that it has been ‘a horrible time for all parties involved’ and that he ‘wished to get on with his racing career’. This can be weighed against what was said, in front of the British Horseracing Authority’s disciplinary panel to be “foul, sexually abusive and misogynistic language” aimed at Frost.
Originally from Garristown, Co. Kildare, Dunne did not sit on a racechorse until he was 14 but, in August, 2000, at the age of 15 and weighing just 8st 1lb, left home and school to take up a place on a 42-week residential course at the Racing Academy and Centre of Education (RACE) in Kildare. He was seconded to Dermot Weld, with whom he spent two years, and subsequently worked for Arthur Moore and Michael O’Brien. Dunne rode his first winner, Maswaly, trained by Jeremy Maxwell, at Downpatrick in February, 2005, but, having failed to break into double figures in three subsequent seasons in his native land, he took the bold step of moving across the Irish Sea.
On British soil, he would eventually find fame – thanks in no small part to owner Andrew Wiles – as the regular jockey of Rigadin De Beauchene, on whom he won the Classic Chase at Warwick in 2013 and the Grand National Trail at Haydock in 2014. Other high-profile successes included the Grimthorpe Chase at Doncaster and Scottish Grand National at Ayr on Wayward Prince, trained by Hilary Parrot, in 2015, and the Eider Chase at Newcastle on Mysteree, trained by Michael Scudamore, and Grand Sefton Chase at Aintree on Gas Line Boy, trained by Ian Williams, in 2017.
