The day I won £16,800 . . . for just 80 seconds of work
Q What did your parents teach you about money?
A TO respect it. Money was hard to come by when I was growing up, so I was taught to be sensible and careful when I had it. My dad was a farm labourer while mum was a housewife. I was one of three kids and money was tight. We lived in a three-bedroom council house in a small Irish village called Taghmon.
Q What was the first paid work you ever did?
A FARM labouring when I was ten. I spent an entire day chucking out tyres and spraying sheep – and I only got paid £4. I was disgusted but it gave me an amazing insight into how hard dad had to work each day.
I worked with horses for the first time when I was 14. I heard about an opportunity to work as a stablehand in a racing stables for £20 a week, and left school that day to take the job. I always knew I wanted to work with horses. I could not ride at the time, so I started at the bottom and worked my way up.
Q Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?
A NO. I have been quite lucky and have never been out of work. When I was 16, I did have to get by on sick pay for a few months after I was kicked by a horse. That was stressful but I always had enough to eat.
Q Have you ever been paid silly money?
A YES. I won the French Oaks this year. It took me about 80 seconds and financially that was a good race to win. The overall prize was £240,000 and I got a seven per cent cut (£16,800). It felt good, but the prestige of winning was more important than the money.
Q What was the best year of your financial life?
A LAST year. I rode 128 races compared to 80 the year before and earned a six-figure sum. You get improved opportunities as a jockey the better you do. No matter how good you are, you cannot win if you do not have the right horse underneath you.
Q What is the best money decision you have made?
A BUYING my home. It is a fourbedroom house in Leyburn, North Yorkshire. I bought it a couple of years ago for £334,000 and it is now worth £400,000.
Q Do you save into a pension or invest in the stock market?
A I SAVE into a pension through the Jockey Club. It is a good scheme because the owners of the horses have to contribute each time I ride.
I think a pension is important. For me it is all about financial security once I retire from riding – the latest retirement age for a jockey is about 50. It is a risky job and not one you want to do as you get older.
I do not invest in the stock market. I would not have a clue about how to go about it, have no interest and probably would not understand what I was doing.
Q Do you switch off the lights when you leave the room?
A YES I do. That is all I do every morning – I go round my house switching the lights off. I am turning into my dad. I do not like wasting money. I am careful. A I WOULD cut the tax on diesel because it costs a fortune. Because of my job I have to drive to racecourses all over the country. Some days it costs more to go racing than I earn when there.
I work seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. I think there are only two days of the year when there is no racing.
People do not understand and would not believe the hours I work. Each day I get up at 5.30am to be in the stables and ride out at 6am. I ride a couple of horses, then typically drive for say three hours to a racecourse, race all day until 6pm and then it is a long drive home. There are days I spend 12 hours in the car and ride maybe two horses for five minutes.
Q What is your number one financial priority?
A TO be mortgage free when I finish riding. I do not want to have the pressure of a big mortgage hanging over my head when it is time to pack in racing.