Ciaran Fennessy rode 188 winners between the flags, and has previously held the title of champion novice rider along with southern champion rider.
"When I was a young lad, I always wanted to be a jockey."
"I had great success, I was champion novice rider, along with southern champion rider."
"I obviously do miss the riding, I would love to be riding but at the end, I wasn't enjoying it. Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning I was always in the sauna sweating. It wasn't easy, the fun was gone out of it."
Between 2007 and 2018, Ciarán Fennessy rode 188 winners between the flags, and he recently acquired his handlers' licence, and looks forward to sending out his first runner as a handler on Sunday with his ex Dan Skelton-trained mare, Superefficient (pictured above).
"Superefficient is a mare that I bought out of Dan Skelton's."
"There is a young lad that helps me lot, David Mulcahy.
"He joined me this season, and he's going to be riding her Sunday, I bought her for David."
"He (David) is a great worker, and he is an up and coming rider. She probably wants a bit of nice ground, she won at Curraghmore on nice ground, we will get her started anyway and see."
"Hopefully towards the end of the season when the ground gets harder, she should pick up one or two hopefully, she had some consistent form in England."
Fennessy is based in North Cork, just outside the town of Buttevant.
"I'm renting stables from Tom and Paul O'Flynn."
"Paul trains away point-to-pointers there himself, and I'm kind of renting half the barn from him."
Fennessy is also looking forward to some nice types to go to war with in the upcoming weeks.
"I have twelve riding out at the moment."
"I have a four-year-old Martaline, I'd be aiming to run him in Lismore. He's a fine, big, strapping horse."
"I also have another nice four-year-old by Valirann. Hopefully he'll be running over the next six weeks."
Ciarán also has a hunter cert for his son of Mozorov, Vee Dancer.
"Vee Dancer was to run in Carrigtwohill aswell, put he pulled a muscle behind, and he will probably run later in the season when the ground dries up a bit."
