Sam Hamilton

From a young age I started with ponies, show jumping, working hunter and pony club. I always had a big interest growing up in my dad's (Brian) racing yard. He taught me all I know from no age really. In addition to teaching me about riding, he was very good at teaching me about general horse care - the whole lot. A soon as I was allowed to by him, I was mucking out and helped out by riding out on the gallops. It was a great grounding as he got me started and got me going. Basically, I just progressed from there. The best horse I ever sat on when dad was training was Warne who won the Aintree Foxhunters (in 2014 under Sam Waley-Cohen). I would have done roadwork and stuff with him when I was young. I wasn't able to canter him as he was a very strong horse. He was a great horse.

I had my first ever ride on Tollymore in a bumper at Down Royal on Boxing Day (2023) for dad before he handed his licence in. The horse didn't have a great chance, but he gave me a good spin. It was a good experience and it is good to have that memory of riding for dad. I partnered my first winner on Yewtree Hill at Tattersalls (December 2024) for my grandfather on my third ride. To be honest, it was surreal. It didn't feel like I had won the race until afterwards. That day it was just dad and I that went down. Dad was leading me up and he was fair happy!

The double in Tyrella (January 2025) on board Camlin Park and Yewtree Hill was for my grandfather. That double was a real shock as we weren't going there expecting to have a double, but it all worked out. Camlin Park actually won a maiden hurdle by 12 lengths in Downpatrick last month under Alex Harvey who is going very well at the minute. I evented Yewtree Hill and he won three or four events with me in Eventing Ireland and then we decided we would race him. We spent probably a year and a half switching him to riding on the flat and jumping and show jumping. We saw a big difference in him and he really strengthened up, so we decided to run him in point-to-points. The eventing and show jumping have definitely been a great help for my point-to-point riding because they teach you the basics and how to ride properly. They definitely help in presenting a horse to a fence.

I'm doing Joinery at college. I was in with Philip Polly, who owns building firms and horses, and I was able to ride out for Warren Ewing then because we didn't work on a Friday. Now, I'm in with a property maintenance firm in Ballyhornan. It is going well and I'm enjoying it. It is mostly Monday to Friday and I get Tuesday off for college. I always ride out for granda before college and on any mornings if they need a hand before I go to work. I would do schooling days at Moira and would ride for Warren there. I've two more years to go and then I'm qualified as a joiner. If my weight stays right, I would do the racing full-time but I'm doing the joinery so I have that as a backup. At the moment, my weight is good. It would be point-to-points and bumpers as I would probably be too heavy to turn professional even though I'd love to. I'd be sitting at 10st 8lb, but I'm quite tall and I'm only 18, so I will probably fill out a bit more.

I can't wait for this point-to-point season. We had a few horses in last season that just didn't get a chance to run and they will run this season. I hope to ride for anyone that I can get rides for. Last season, I would have been down south most weekends riding in Sunday point-to-points because there are a lot of open novice rider races. I would have ridden a lot of David Christie's horses in those races. Those races are a good help and that's why I try and get rides in them as often as I can. My goals for the upcoming season are to get more rides, ride winners, and strengthen up a good bit so that I'm riding well. I've had five winners from not many rides, so more experience would definitely help. I have ridden at most of the point-to-point tracks in the north, but Tyrella has a special place in my heart because I rode my double there.

Sam was in conversation with Michael Graham.

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About Michael Graham

Michael has worked in horse racing journalism for more than 15 years, having also written a weekly betting column on Gaelic football and hurling for a newspaper. He is involved in writing the My Racing Story features on this website. He spent a year in South Africa completing a Diploma in Business Administration and also studied Newspaper Journalism in Belfast. He enjoys playing 5-a-side football on a regular basis.

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