Dane O'Neill (born 1 August 1975) is a retired Irish jockey, who won over 1,800 races in Great Britain over a 25-year career, including the 2015 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot.
Career
O'Neill was born in Dublin, but brought up in Monkstown, County Cork. His uncle was a trainer, and his family had always been interested in racing. He was a skilled showjumper in his youth, and also rode 24 winners in pony races.
He moved to Britain aged 17 and spent his early career riding for Richard Hannon Sr. His first winner was Port Sunlight, at Sandown Park on 15 July 1993. Winners were slow to come, and in his first three seasons, he only rode seven. His career took a step forward in 1996 when he won the apprentice jockeys’ championship with 67 wins.
For Hannon, he won several big sprint races on Bold Edge, including the Cork and Orrery Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Diadem Stakes in 1999 and his first Group 1, the Prix Maurice de Gheest in August 2000. He also won the Jersey Stakes at the 1999 Royal Ascot on Lots of Magic.
2003 was his most successful year with 110 winners. These included Airwave in the Group 2 Temple Stakes for Henry Candy, and another Royal Ascot winner, Macadamia in the Royal Hunt Cup for James Fanshawe. In total, he won over £1.3 million in prize money during the year.
It was five years before he reached 100 winners or £1 million in prize money again, aided by wins in the Stewards' Cup for William Haggas on Conquest I.
He spent a period as stable jockey to Henry Candy. Then, in October 2012, he was appointed second jockey to Sheikh Hamdan al Maktoum, behind Paul Hanagan. The Maktoum partnership led him to the biggest prize of his career – the first Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot in 2015 on Muhaarar trained by Charlie Hills. On Mukhadram he finished third in the 2014 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
By the end of 2017, he had nearly 1,700 career victories in Britain, and became the seventh most prolific winner among current jockeys on the retirement of Jimmy Fortune.
O'Neill announced his retirement from riding in March 2024. He had suffered serious injuries in a fall at Wolverhampton in July 2023 and was forced to retire on medical grounds. He rode 1,889 winners in Great Britain.
Statistics
Flat wins in Great Britain by year
Year Wins Runs Strike rate Total earnings 1992 0 6 0 £1,864 1993 2 25 8 £10,901 1994 5 65 8 £27,395 1995 33 349 9 £300,365 1996 80 742 11 £544,988 1997 61 766 8 £493,183 1998 75 772 10 £539,125 1999 66 772 9 £864,122 2000 32 346 9 £345,696 2001 63 676 9 £723,732 2002 70 808 9 £723,562 2003 110 1018 11 £1,339,838 2004 74 974 8 £948,766 2005 86 902 10 £749,467 2006 94 943 10 £713,894 2007 92 938 10 £651,276 2008 109 947 12 £1,154,512 2009 84 829 10 £712,306 2010 82 865 9 £699,529 2011 96 826 12 £689,312 2012 63 633 10 £431,195 2013 76 515 15 £685,275 2014 62 496 13 £719,909 2015 62 472 13 £1,019,460 2016 36 285 13 £429,221 2017 61 388 16 £634,668
Major wins Great Britain Commonwealth Cup – (1) Muhaarar (2015) Diamond Jubilee Stakes- (1) Bold Edge (1999) British Champions Sprint Stakes – (1) Bold Edge (1999)
France Prix Maurice de Gheest – Bold Edge (2000)
United Arab Emirates Jebel Hatta – (2) – Alfareeq (2022, 2023) Al Quoz Sprint – (1) Danyah (2023)
Notes
References