Dane O'Neill (born 1 August 1975)[1] is a retired Irish jockey, who won over 1,800 races in Great Britain over a 25-year career, including the 2015 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot.

Dane O'Neill
OccupationJockey
Born1 August 1975
Dublin, Ireland
Major racing wins
Major races
Diadem Stakes (1999)
Cork and Orrery Stakes (1999)
Prix Maurice de Gheest (2000)
Commonwealth Cup (2015)
Significant horses
Bold Edge

Career

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O'Neill was born in Dublin, but brought up in Monkstown, County Cork. His uncle was a trainer, and his family had always been interested in racing. He was a skilled showjumper in his youth, and also rode 24 winners in pony races.[2]

He moved to Britain aged 17 and spent his early career riding for Richard Hannon Sr. His first winner was Port Sunlight, at Sandown Park on 15 July 1993. Winners were slow to come, and in his first three seasons, he only rode seven. His career took a step forward in 1996 when he won the apprentice jockeys’ championship with 67 wins.

For Hannon, he won several big sprint races on Bold Edge, including the Cork and Orrery Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Diadem Stakes in 1999 and his first Group 1, the Prix Maurice de Gheest in August 2000. He also won the Jersey Stakes at the 1999 Royal Ascot on Lots of Magic.

2003 was his most successful year with 110 winners. These included Airwave in the Group 2 Temple Stakes for Henry Candy, and another Royal Ascot winner, Macadamia in the Royal Hunt Cup for James Fanshawe. In total, he won over £1.3 million in prize money during the year.

It was five years before he reached 100 winners or £1 million in prize money again, aided by wins in the Stewards' Cup for William Haggas on Conquest I.

He spent a period as stable jockey to Henry Candy. Then, in October 2012, he was appointed second jockey to Sheikh Hamdan al Maktoum, behind Paul Hanagan. The Maktoum partnership led him to the biggest prize of his career – the first Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot in 2015 on Muhaarar trained by Charlie Hills. On Mukhadram he finished third in the 2014 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

By the end of 2017, he had nearly 1,700 career victories in Britain, and became the seventh most prolific winner among current jockeys on the retirement of Jimmy Fortune.[3]

O'Neill announced his retirement from riding in March 2024. He had suffered serious injuries in a fall at Wolverhampton in July 2023 and was forced to retire on medical grounds. He rode 1,889 winners in Great Britain.[1]

Statistics

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Flat wins in Great Britain by year[4]

Year Wins Runs Strike rate Total earnings
1992 0 6 0 £1,864
1993 2 25 8 £10,901
1994 5 65 8 £27,395
1995 33 349 9 £300,365
1996 80 742 11 £544,988
1997 61 766 8 £493,183
1998 75 772 10 £539,125
1999 66 772 9 £864,122
2000 32 346 9 £345,696
2001 63 676 9 £723,732
2002 70 808 9 £723,562
2003 110 1018 11 £1,339,838
2004 74 974 8 £948,766
2005 86 902 10 £749,467
2006 94 943 10 £713,894
2007 92 938 10 £651,276
2008 109 947 12 £1,154,512
2009 84 829 10 £712,306
2010 82 865 9 £699,529
2011 96 826 12 £689,312
2012 63 633 10 £431,195
2013 76 515 15 £685,275
2014 62 496 13 £719,909
2015 62 472 13 £1,019,460
2016 36 285 13 £429,221
2017[a] 61 388 16 £634,668

Major wins

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  Great Britain

  France

  United Arab Emirates

Notes

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  1. ^ correct to 27 Oct

References

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  1. ^ a b Mottershead, Lee (28 March 2024). "Injury forces Dane O'Neill into retirement after glittering 32-year riding career". Racing Post. Archived from the original on 28 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Stars: Jockeys – Dane O'Neill". QIPCO British Champions Series. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  3. ^ Dench, Graham (7 October 2017). "Leading rider Fortune calls time on distinguished career". Racing Post. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Profile: Jockey – Dane O'Neill – Stats". Racing Post. Retrieved 27 October 2017.