Simon Condon, a 59-year-old amateur jockey who works as a healthcare assistant in Dublin, being interviewed after he won a race for the first time in Kilbeggan last week.

VIDEO: Amateur jockey Simon (59) rides his first-ever winner in Kilbeggan!

Adrian Cusack

Published: Mon 25 Apr 2022, 5:40 PM

Last updated: Tue 26 Apr 2022, 1:09 PM

Last Thursday's race meeting in Kilbeggan is one Simon Condon, a Lucan-based healthcare assistant and amateur jockey, will remember for the rest of his days.

After trying unsuccessfully to win a race for more 40 years, he rode his own horse, the 40-1 outsider Eat The Book, to victory in the KilbegganRaces.com Handicap Hurdle.

A number of firsts were encapsulated in the memorable result: It was Simon's first race in Kilbeggan, his first-ever win, and Eat The Book's first win.

What makes it all the more remarkable is that the David Dunne-trained nine-year-old had previously broken an elbow in Thurles, and it was feared for a time that he may have to be put down.

Speaking to the Westmeath Independent this afternoon (Monday), Simon said he had kept his horse racing involvement low-key up to now, but had received plenty of congratulatory messages after the result in Kilbeggan.

"There has been a great reaction to it, and people have been congratulating me in work. People got a kick out of it, I think," he said.

Simon Condon (centre) celebrates after riding the 40-1 Eat The Book to victory in Kilbeggan.

Simon's father had purchased Eat The Book as a three-year-old. He said he always knew that the horse could be a winner, but there were many bumps along the road to last week's success.

"He was a very boisterous horse - a bit of a 'boyo'," Simon remarked. "I didn't ride him for a long time because it was just too dangerous. There was nothing bad about him, but he was just so fresh all the time, bucking and kicking."

Simon sustained a number of falls and broken bones as he was getting to know the horse.

"I got quite a few falls off him, and got broke up. It was unusual for a horse to break so many bones on me. I nearly didn't get as many falls in the previous 35 years as I did with this horse," he said.

"When the horse broke his elbow - a bad break in his joint - we didn't think he'd survive. The prognosis was very bad.

"But David (Dunne) is a good trainer and nursed him back. We got him back, and he's kind of got a bit of sense now. But he's a funny horse - you have to really know him."

Unsurprisingly, having gone through so much over the years, he said coming from behind to win Thursday's race was an "amazing" and "emotional" feeling.

"It's hard to describe. Being in front, I got some buzz out of that. It's fantastic," he told Racing TV shortly after the race ended.

You can watch the race and Simon's interview with Racing TV here: