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‘It’s a game changer’ – Amy Jo Hayes set for second stint in Australia

3 minute read

Irish-born apprentice jockey Amy Jo Hayes will return to Australia in February for a second stint with Perth-based trainer sponsor Trevor Andrews. With bright prospects matching the ‘great weather’ enjoyed during her first three-month experience, the future has never looked sunnier for the twenty-four-year-old jockey.

Trainer : ANDREW SLATTERY.
Trainer : ANDREW SLATTERY. Picture: RacingandSports

From Tipperary, Amy Jo Hayes was born with horse-racing in her blood and spent her formative years aboard a pony, practice that was quickly put to good use.

"My grandad bred Grand National winner West Tip and both my parents worked in racing, so we'd had ponies growing up. I'd been riding since I was five and went to the racing school when I was sixteen. From eighteen onwards, I worked as an apprentice for trainer Joe Murphy before signing on with Andrew Slattery."

Achieving fifteen winners in Ireland over a four-year period under the care of Irish agent Dave Keena, Hayes rose to prominence when taking the 2023 Ride Of The Year for her win aboard Redstone Well in the Nasrullah Handicap at Leopardstown, voted superior by Irish racing fans to Paul Townend's victory in the Irish Grand National.

"To be even nominated was an honour in itself, but to be called up against some of these jockeys who would be well-used to winning a prize like that was amazing. They definitely got a good reaction out of me!"

With a steady stream of winners in Ireland, it was a tricky decision for Hayes to make the trip to Australia, despite the best efforts of those around her.

"There was a man called Paul Keane, who worked at the apprentice school (The Curragh, Kildare) and he was always mentioning that I should consider Australia. I was never going to budge, but then my sister went out there to live and work for a few months. I said I'll get the three-month visa and see how it goes. If I don't like it, at least I'll only have to stick it out for a few months. But then by the second weekend, I loved it."

Hayes travelled over to Perth in late September 2024 to the yard of Trevor Andrews and quickly settled into Australian racing life, a far cry from her Tipperary roots.

"Walking in and seeing the horses tacked up for you, it was very different from home. I was used to having to do all the dirty work before even seeing a horse, so that was a bit of a surprise.

"The early starts at half three in the morning were a huge shock to the system. It was actually quite nice to ride out in the pitch dark and as the morning goes on, you're seeing the sun rise and have the rest of the day to yourself. Trevor Andrews put me under his wing to get me going, I worked full time for him and I was kept busy which helped."

Being the 'new girl' in the weighing room was always going to be a tough ask and a difference in culture became Hayes' first obstacle to overcome. In the UK and Ireland, each jockey has access to a valet who is responsible for riding equipment during the race meeting – a concept which is not used in Australia.

"I found it quite difficult at the start. I didn't realise that Australia didn't have valets and I walked into the room on the first day, all the girls had these big suitcases like the one I had travelled over with, full of gear and I was looking at them, asking where are the valets?

"It didn't take long to come together – Brad Parnham gave me a lot of his second-hand gear that he wasn't using and they looked out for me. If I needed a different saddle, or a different set of weights, the girls would always be there to give me a hand and help out."

With the operational aspect of day-to-day racing in hand, Hayes could concentrate on the reason for being in Australia – riding winners – in a completely different style.

"From a racing perspective, we ride tightly in a bunch in Ireland and you could be four or five wide – whereas in Australia, I was told I ride too close to the heels of the horse in front and I needed to come back. They're going a lot faster, on a lot harder ground in Australia so I had to take some precautionary checks."

The transition to country tracks and a larger book of rides also required adaption, with Hayes logging six rides at Moora on only her second race meeting in Australia – a major difference from the one or two rides per day at home.

"The country tracks were very different to home and to what I'm used to. Having a book of six rides was huge for me, a big achievement in itself. At the country meetings, it felt like they went hard – you had to kick, get them out of the gate as quickly as possible and go as hard as you can.

"I felt you were riding differently at the country tracks than the tracks closer to Perth and I was quickly told not to 'ride pretty' in the country. When I went to the provincial meetings, they said you can 'ride pretty' again! The country meetings were a great learning curve."

The pieces of the jigsaw quickly began to fall together, with Hayes recording her first victory aboard Trevor Andrews' Ayumi at Northam on 6 October. Six days later, she followed up with a success on the Peter Bamford-trained Smokey Mountain at Leonora, the first of multiple winners on outside rides.

At the end of the three month period, Hayes had achieved notable statistics. She rode eleven winners and nineteen placings from 91 rides, giving a remarkable place strike rate of nearly 33%. Hayes was quick to commend the work of Australian racing manager Jason Smith, who successfully found eighty-seven rides for the claiming apprentice outside of Andrews' yard.

"He pulled it all together. I was aiming to ride a winner each week and one week, I didn't ride a winner. I got pipped on the line and I thought, there goes my momentum. Then on the last day, I rode a double and made up for it. A lot of the winners weren't even short prices, which was a nice surprise – it's great to win off these big shots too."

With a level of success far superior to her previous experience in Ireland, it is easy to see why Hayes jumped at the opportunity to return in February 2025, to be sponsored again by Trevor Andrews.

"When you compare it, the most rides I had achieved in a year in Ireland was fifty. I really fell in love with the place and I fell in love with everybody else. Mam was ringing me from home and I was saying, you're definitely missing me more than I'm missing you! She knew: I'd caught the bug for it."

When asked to review her experience in Australia, Hayes found it easy to sum up.

"It's a game changer. I know a lot of people go out to Australia for different career choices and just living life differently. I said I'll go out and see what the hype is all about and it's definitely worth all the hype."


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