Meet the Trainees - Philip Egan

Hi, my name is Philip Egan and I am from the Curragh, Co. Kildare. I always wanted to be a jockey since I started going racing and following the careers of my brother David Egan and my Dad, John Egan.

I loved going hunting when I was 12 and 13, it helped my confidence a lot both with horses and with difficult jumps. I had 16 rides in the pony racing which made me very sharp and observant.  I also went to Sir Mark Prescott in the summer of 2017 and then I went to Jim Bolger’s the following year, for the summer, and instead of going back to school, I was accepted as a student at the racing academy.  At RACE I continued to increase my fitness and train hard in the Gym, running up to 10km on the treadmill a few times a week. The yard I was sent out to was Mr. Dermot Weld. I started my first day in Mr. Welds in November 2018 and I really love it there.

I always had a great interest in horse racing since a young age as I came from a racing background. I spent a lot of time with my grandad Dessie Hughes, he helped me get to know many riding techniques and taught me the right way to treat the horses. Back in 2014, when my grandad died, my mum took over training and that is when I put my head down and did as much work as I could around the yard.  I spent most of the time outside with the horses and learned from the other jockeys such as Bryan Cooper. Often, when I went to England to visit my dad John and my brother David, they would take me to the yards to ride out with them.

Once I graduate from RACE 2019, I hope to eventually go to England and when the time comes to get my Flat license.

It was great to have the good instructors in Race such as Paddy Flood, Barry Walsh, Niall Byrne and Paul Keating. They thought me a lot and got me on the right road.

Philip was placed with Dermot Weld on the 19^th of November 2018.

Maddenstown Gallops