Interview: Wexford jockey Jordan Gainford shares his ultimate ambition

The horse-racing scene is still booming in Ireland…

One man who plays a role in the industry is Wexford man and jockey, Jordan Gainford.

In conjuction with Boyle Sports, who offer the latest Cheltenham odds, we caught up with the Wexford jockey to discuss his view of Willie Mullins, his lessons learned with Gordon Elliot, and his ultimate ambition in horse-racing.

View of Willie Mullins:

“He knows just when to peak. He’s magic. The stats were maybe saying he was a bit slower this year than other years, but he’s a genius. He’s champion trainer for how long now, and I think come Cheltenham we could see a difference in some of these horses again.

As I said, Galopin Des Champs, he finished third at Leopardstown but you could never rule him out. He’s a genius at getting his horses to peak and he’s a brilliant man for the game. You love listening to him and everything he says as well.

Let’s see after Cheltenham and that’ll be Willie’s thinking, I’m sure. I read an interview there that it’s in his mind so I’m sure he’ll give it a good go. It’s going to be all up to Cheltenham and then Aintree, and I’d say he’ll give it a good stab if he gets good results there.”

Working for Gordon Elliott:

“Look, he gave me two Grade 1 winners. He gives me most of my winners throughout the year. There’s plenty of us there fighting for places behind Jack Kennedy, obviously.

It’s great, you’re riding good horses every day, you’re schooling every day, you’re riding work, you’re working with the best people in racing. It’s a competitive place. If you do something wrong, you learn fairly quickly and it’s the best way to be really.”

The biggest lesson learned with Elliot:

“Discipline. If you’re asked to be there for 7am then be there at a quarter to seven. Keep your head down, listen to what he tells you and do what you’re told. That’s the most important thing. If you work with him, he works with you and it’s a fair level playing ground,” the Wexford man said.

Ultimate ambition:

“To be honest, everyone wants to win the Gold Cup and be champion jockey. If you’re not dreaming of them, you’re not really in the game. They are the targets. I was lucky enough to ride in the Gold Cup. It was probably the best race I ever rode in to be honest.”

“I’ll keep my head down, try and ride as many winners as I can and take every chance as much as I can. Every horse deserves their time, and you need to put every bit of time and effort you can into them and hopefully the dreams will come through after that.”

This article was published in conjuction with Boyle Sports, who offer the latest Cheltenham odds.

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