Next Generation | Rider
Name: Jordan Hart
Age: 21
Area: Baltinglass, Wicklow
Jordan Hart comes from a talented sporting family with his brother Max a race winner in the Dunlop Touring Car Trophy in England this year, whilst his other brother Charlie is a conditional jockey based with Tipperary trainer Denis Hogan.
The 21-year-old enjoyed a notable day at Damma House last Sunday, when he not only rode but also trained his first winner when Nothinbuttime ran out the four-length winner of the five and six-year-old mares’ maiden.
We caught up with him to find out more about the latest first-time winner this season.
Are you from a racing background?
Mam and Dad would have bought us a pony when I was about four, we had just moved to Baltinglass and we were always out in the fields after school.
They had a racehorse in training with John Lennon called Goinforporter and Dad would have taken us out of school the odd day when he would be running here and there.
They would have been more into motorsport, my brother Max does a lot of that now at the minute. He is racing in England this year.
I would have been more into the horses, buying and selling a couple when I was younger. My youngest brother Charlie is a conditional down in Denis Hogan’s.
What would be your earliest racing memory?
We were up in Loughanmore when Goinforporter won his point-to-point. Andrew Kinirons rode him and I always remember sitting up in the horse box with mam and she had the sandwiches made, it was a proper family day out!
How did you get involved in racing?
When I was younger on Saturday and Sunday mornings I used to go down mucking out to John Lennon’s yard. When I was a bit older, probably 12 or 13, Jackie McGeer mentioned to me that I should go riding out somewhere so I gave Jessica Harrington a ring and started working there the following Sunday morning. I have never looked back.
About two years ago I took a break and went to work for Aidan Fitzgerald and then I rode out for Ken Condon for a bit and then I also rode out for Fran Flood. He has been a great help to me.
I went to England for the summer last year over to Nicky Henderson. It was great to experience something else and see another yard.
When you was your first ride?
I had a mare in training with Helen Markham when I was 16 and rode her in two bumpers and then I started point-to-pointing the following year with a horse called Steel Park.
I had three rides that year on him and then I bought another horse Askmeanything and got six or seven rides from him that year and he really started me off.
When did you also start training?
I took out the handler’s permit after I got back from England last year. I said it was probably the best chance of getting rides and get my name out there.
I ran Askmeanything and he pulled up twice and then this year I got a few more horses and it’s been a good bit busier. I haven’t looked back.
I have six point-to-pointers, three pre-trainers and a breaker in at the minute. I spend the afternoons riding them out and mucking out. I do most of them myself. Cian Cullinan and Robbie Jackson would give me a hand in the evening when they finish riding out and some of the guys in Jessie’s might ride out the odd horse at lunch.
I am delighted with how it has worked out.
What facilities do you have to train?
We have stables there at home and basically just a big field, a hill and the roads around. Fran Flood lets me go in and use the gallops there and I get to use the gallops in Jessica Harrington’s too for a piece of good work.
Sunday proved to be a great day for you with Nothinbuttime winning and Jaksporter running well in the last?
It was a big weight off my shoulders, I was delighted to get the win and just hope to get plenty more. I was confident beforehand but I didn’t want to jinx myself so I wasn’t saying it to anyone in case it backfired.
Jaksporter ran a great race on her debut, I was over the moon with her. I know that she fell at the last and it looked a tired fall but looking back on a close up video the mother got, when she landed over the fence she landed on herself and pulled herself to the ground.
She has come out of it well and I am looking forward to her the next day. I said if she could get a clean round of jumping I knew she would go well, she will improve from it so I am really looking forward to her for the next day.
What is the plan for Nothinbuttime now?
She came out of Sunday very well. On Monday you would swear that she had been standing in her box for a week, she was standing on her hind legs bucking and squealing around the paddock, so she will go to Boulta now for the winners’ race there and then the big Winners Final at Oldcastle in December.
What ambitions would you have for the season?
All along my goal was to get a winner on the board, but now that I have ticked that off I just want to get as many as I can.
Is there one horse in particular to keep an eye on?
I have a nice filly Mam, Dad and I own together. She is a four-year-old by Califet that I am really looking forward to. Her name is Burlina. I am just waiting for her passport to come back from Weatherbys now and then she will get a hunter cert straight away and I would hope to run her and the other two mares that ran on Sunday again in Boulta later in the month.
Who would be your biggest influence?
Jackie McGeer he would have always helped since the time that I was very young. I would have gone down to John Lennon’s when I was very young and he was always there. I would have always gone over breaking ponies and half-bred’s and he would have been one of my biggest influences.
Do you play any other sport?
I don’t really have the time for much else. Whenever I get a chance I would go karting here and there, I enjoy that and I would buy and sell a few half-bred’s too.
