Family affair as O’Neills target further Jockeys’ Cup success

The O’Neill name is well-known in the world of racing, with Jonjo O’Neill becoming a household name thanks to his efforts in the saddle in the 1970s and 1980s.

However, having built up his Jackdaws Castle stables in the Cotswolds since retiring from riding, O’Neill Sr has seen his sons AJ and Jonjo Jr become an integral part of the family’s training setup.

Successful amateur rider AJ joined his father on the licence in April 2024, and it’s a move that has paid off according to AJ’s brother Jonjo who told Sporting Life in the second of their David Power Jockeys’ Cup podcast series: “It’s great because Dad’s got all the experience in the world and we’ve got some new ideas and Dad’s very willing to try them.

“I think it’s definitely brought a new dimension in.  It’s another pair of eyes and ears and because we’re all family as well, we’re all singing off the same hymn sheet.

“So, it’s not really like a job for any of us. It’s just a way of life – we’re very lucky.”

With the closeness that comes with family working together also bringing its challenges, O’Neill explains that there is only one boss at Jackdaws Castle.

He added: “We all have our fair share of moments, to be honest, but mum (Jacqui) is the boss.

“She’s a massive part of it, especially on the business side with the owners – she’s absolutely brilliant.”

O’Neill – who picked up 10 points in the David Power Jockeys’ Cup when riding Springwell Bay to win the Betfair Exchange Handicap Chase at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day – acknowledges the example of his father’s work ethic as key to his own early success in the saddle, but is also well aware of the hard graft put in by others at the yard.

Crediting Alan Berry and Jonny Kavanagh in particular, O’Neill explained: “We’re very lucky we’ve got some experienced members of staff that could probably train in their own right.

“So, to have them in the yard, when you’re racing or at the sales having busy days, you just know that the yard’s going to run like clockwork.

“Those sorts of people are very hard to find now.”