Costello riding high as season goes from strength to strength

Few riders can lay claim to the strike rate of Emily Costello at present.

The Quin native has made an excellent start to the point-to-point season, winning aboard four of her five rides to date for an impressive 80 percent strike rate, which she added to on the track during week with a bumper success at Limerick.

It marks a significant step forward for the 21-year-old, who recorded only one point-to-point winner last season and has already surpassed that total in the opening weeks of the new campaign.

 

Costello joined the Pat Doyle team at Suirview Stables towards the end of the summer and has quickly settled into the operation, riding three winners for the yard so far.

 

“I had no expectations really coming into the season”, explained Costello. “I started with Pat just towards the end of the summer. I’ve had three of my winners for him. His horses are in good form and when you’re riding for him they always have a chance.”

 
Costello’s season began at Castletown-Geoghegan on the opening weekend where she finished a short-head second on Magic Sadler in the open for novice riders. The gelding has continued to progress since.

 

“He’s improving the whole time. He was unlucky the first day but he’s come out since and won two. He’s strengthened up again this year and he’s answering all the questions at the moment.”

 

Costello’s first winner of the campaign came at Peppards Castle when she guided Kings Jet to a hard-fought success in the ladies open for Cormac Farrell.

 

“Pat was talking to Cormac and he put my name forward for the ride. So it was through Pat again that I got that winner. He’s been very good to me so far.”

 

Magic Sadler then recorded back-to-back victories at Tattersalls and Quakerstown before Costello enjoyed her fourth success in the saddle at Turtulla last Sunday, where she partnered the experienced Lifetime Ambition to a notable 12-length win in the highly competitive novice riders’ open.

The victory carried extra significance for connections, as joint-owner and long-standing point-to-point supporter Roddy O’Byrne had sadly passed away the previous week.

 

“That was a big winner. He’s a yard favourite and it was a nice surprise to get to ride him.

"When he won it was brilliant, especially for the family. With Roddy passing away during the week, it was an emotional winner for them, and it was his 100th winner as well.

"He’s some thrill to ride – as long as you don’t get in his way he’s a class act. Definitely the highlight of the season so far.”

 

Costello comes from a family steeped in point-to-point history. Her father Dermot and uncle Tom are both former champion riders, and her dad remains a major influence.

 

“Dad goes racing most days with me. He’s a big help for getting advice, or critiques.”

 

Her older sister Laura has ridden seven winners between points and the track, and the pair travel together when both are riding.

When asked if there was any sibling rivalry between them, she joked: “If we’ve an open horse at home there might be an argument the night before about who’s going to ride him.”

 

Eldest sister Jenny doesn’t ride but enjoys helping and going racing, while another sister, Sarah, rode the Andy Slattery-trained favourite Dark Note to win the 2025 Punchestown charity race in the spring. Sarah has no plans to follow her sisters into the amateur ranks, though the victory was particularly meaningful for the family.

 

“She’s got a 100 percent strike rate. It was great for her to get a day in the limelight, it was well-deserved. It also meant a lot because both Dad and my uncle received lifesaving organ donations in recent years.”

 

The Costello family run a beef and sheep farm and, along with training a few point-to-pointers, they buy a few foals each year to resell as three-year-olds.

 

Costello also has a long-standing link with Andy Slattery, who supplied her with her two track winners to date.

 

“I did a summer with Andy two years ago and then one day a week this summer gone by. I got my first track winner for him, and when I came back from injury I had a winner at the Curragh for him.”

 

Alongside her riding commitments, Costello is completing the final year of her Agricultural Science degree at UCD, travelling between Dublin during the week and home at weekends. She rides out for Doyle on Mondays and Fridays, attends college midweek, and rides out for Eric McNamara on Saturdays.

 

With four winners on the board already, Costello is set for a busy season and looking ahead, she admits the ladies championship is a goal she would like to aim for, while remaining realistic at this stage of the season.

 

“It’s still early in the season to talk about the Ladies title, but it would be a goal. If I can keep riding winners, things will be going well.”