Stephen O'Halloran Racing

My path into the Racing industry started in 1995 with my sights set on becoming a professional Jockey through the world-renowned Racing Academy and Centre of Education (RACE) situated on the edge of the Curragh plains in Co. Kildare Ireland. This trainee Jockey programme offered world class training facilities and an environment dedicated to refining the art of good horsemanship whilst also nurturing personal development and strong foundations for a successful future in the Racing Industry.

As can be the case with many aspiring Jockeys, my natural weight crept up and the decision was made that a career as a Professional Jockey wasn’t going to be for me and I would have to forge a different path to continue my passion for Racing.

In 2003 I made the decision to leave Ireland and travel to Australia, where I had the opportunity to work for Gai Waterhouse Racing. As a trackwork rider for Gai I found myself riding some of Australia’s best racehorses. The honour roll is extensive but included Grand Armee, Triple Crown winner Dance Hero, Northern Meteor, Sebring, Theseo, Desert War, Vancouver, Overreach and Manhattan Rain, just to name a few. The number of Golden Slipper and Group 1 winners that I had the pleasure of riding trackwork every day and be heavily involved with was like a dream come true. A couple of my stand outs were More Joyous and Pierro. I rode More Joyous in all of her day-to-day work and every gallop I did on her, she did so effortlessly. Pierro knew exactly how to turn it on for race day. He knew trackwork was just practice and when we got to the races he’d walk around the parade ring like he owned the joint and knew it was Game Day!

For the 17 years while I worked for Gai I had the opportunity to travel to all the many major carnivals around Australia as senior foreman. This gave me a lot of exposure and allowed me to experience the top-class racing Australia has to offer. I also had the privilege to travel to Royal Ascot in 2015 with Wandjina who finished sixth in the Diamond Jubilee Sprint. Those years working with Gai were a fantastic experience all round.

In 2020 I had the opportunity fulfil my dream of becoming a Trainer in my own right. I was approached by Paul Fudge of Waratah Thoroughbreds to be his private Trainer at his World Class property in the Southern Highlands, this was an opportunity I couldn’t dismiss. In my first twelve months of training at Bong Bong Farm I saddled up ten winners including my first city win with Prince of Arragon.

After getting my first taste of Training the next step was to go out on my own and have a business that I could call mine. In 2021 I made the move to Hawkesbury and Stephen O’Halloran Racing was born. I could not be happier with the progress we have made in these first 12 months and look forward to a successful future with some quality horses and loyal owners.