Aidan Coleman on post-retirement life, reality TV and working with Fergal O'Brien

Aidan Coleman has admitted retirement has been “very hard” but is “really enjoying” his work with trainer Fergal O’Brien.

Coleman spoke to BOYLE Sports, who offer the latest Leopardstown Christmas Festival odds, in a wide-ranging interview covering his thoughts on Willie Mullins, Jack Kennedy and his transition to life after the saddle.

How is your new role with Fergal O’Brien going?

AC: “I’ve really enjoyed it. He's got a great team, he's got some really nice horses. They're running very well, which is great.

“I really appreciate Fergal giving me the opportunity. I didn't have loads of offers really when I retired, and he was the first one. It really suits me, and it fits well. I still have time to do other stuff, if the right stuff comes along.

“I'm kind of looking to maybe try and see if there's anything else I can do alongside it. But for now, it's really good to be involved in the team again. At the same time, I'd like to have a few other bits on the go alongside it.”

Are you fitter now than you were when riding?

AC: “I don't know! If I knew I'd go and do it. It's kind of hard to, when you don't know, find something. That’s why it's very good that I've got Fergal. There’s peace of mind and I'm busy every day and I'm really into my fitness now as well. I ride out my three or four, help out with other stuff, then I go to the gym.

“I try to do about three or four walks a week too for about five or six miles. I’m fitter than I was probably when I was riding.

“A few months ago, I got up to about 12 and a half stone, but I didn't like it. I'm really happy being active.”

Are you more comfortable in retirement now?

AC: “Yeah. I'm probably more used to it now, or more comfortable with it now, but I'm still not really sure what's next as such. I've got the peace of mind that I am doing something every day, and I am useful to someone, and I am working and all that, so it all helps.

“I don’t know what I’ll be doing in five years. If being with Fergal is one of them, I'd be very happy with that. I really enjoy it there. I just like to think there might be a little bit more I can do as well.”

How difficult is it to adjust to retirement?

AC: “Yeah. It’s very hard. Our sport is so individual and so probably unique that the everyday person probably couldn't envisage what it takes. When it does end, especially unexpectedly, it is very, very alien.

“It is probably impossible to prepare for because when you're a jockey that is your identity and that's everything you are.

“There's no preparing for what's next whether you are planning retirement or not.

“It's such a different way of life that it's very hard to prepare for.”

Do you have any advice for jockeys thinking about retirement?

AC: “The main bit of advice I would give is enjoy it because it is literally the best days of your life and don't take it for granted. That would be the main piece of advice I'd give them.

“I still have to work. The money I made when I was riding was invested in properties, and I have a bit of money in the bank.

“I’d advise those jockeys that are riding and are doing well to understand you won't always do well and financially they should have some sort of plan for what's next. But mainly it would be just to enjoy it. Because when it's going well, it is such a thrill. It would be a shame to not enjoy it.

“You don't want to be buying fast cars. Don't be getting a new car every week. That is literally financial suicide.

“It is a short career, but when you literally risk your life working, you should enjoy your money as well.

“It is an absolute guarantee that you are going to end up in an ambulance several times in your career. David Maxwell explained it well when he announced his retirement this month.

“Professional jockeys expect a fall every 20 rides. They expect a minor injury every 60 rides. And every 200 rides they expect to break something. So, here’s the job description. If the riding fee is roughly £200, every £4,000 you’re going to fall off the ladder; every £12,000 I am going to kick you until you get a nasty bit of bruising; and every £40,000 I am going to come round your house with a baseball bat and break your arm!”

Have you used a sports psychologist to help you in retirement?

AC: “Everyone was talking about Evan Ferguson two years ago. Probably there’s not much on the fitness side in terms of following what jockeys do but on the mental health side there definitely is.

“Michael Caulfield who used to be the CEO of the Professional Jockeys’ Association, retrained and is now one of sport’s top psychologists.

“He’s a lovely man. I went on a couple of walks with him with his dog for a chat after I retired. He is brilliant at what he does.

“He’s now working with Brentford FC. It was his idea to install a number of benches at the club’s training ground as well as in the local community, to give players, coaches and staff a safe, confidential place to talk.

“He often uses jockeys as a reference point. The benches at the facility have had a significant impact on the players who have used them as a space to pause and have meaningful conversations with Michael, or simply to sit and reflect in peace. He said the players have really got behind it.

“I can see why they would. Sport in general, whether you've got a football, cricket bat, rugby ball or a horse underneath you, it's still sport. It's still winning and losing, isn't it? And competing. But the principle is always the same.

“There's an element of danger in all those sports. But for jockeys it's probably a little bit more exaggerated. There are many variables. We’re individuals but dependent on a horse beneath you.

“You could ride really well but your horse might not be fast enough, and you get no reward for it, or you could ride really badly but your horse is fast enough, and you win. So, it's hard to keep an even perspective at all when you're riding.

“The older you get the better you deal with all that kind of stuff. When you're young, every loser is a disaster and every winner is the best thing ever. But you kind of need to find the middle ground and don't get too high and don't get too low.”

Did you ever ride for Sir Alex Ferguson?

AC: “I don't think I ever rode for him. But he loves his racing. Hitman, named after Ricky Hatton, won the Old Roan at the weekend. He is owned by Sir Alex and Ged Mason who were friends of the boxer. And the prize money was donated to the Ricky Hatton Foundation.

“Racing is actually not short of big names. The Royal Family, Harry Redknapp, Alex Ferguson, Tony Bloom who owns Brighton now coming in. Some of the Brighton footballers have horses as well. And Michael Owen has had his own training establishment for two decades. Tyson Fury also owns a horse, Big Gypsy King, which won at Chelmsford not so long ago.

What was it like riding for Willie Mullins?

AC: “His start is usually around the Hatton’s Grace meeting at Fairyhouse at the end of November, or early December.

“I had a few rides for him, a few for JP McManus. He is a very nice man to ride for. I never had a winner for him though!

“The word might be thrown around a bit too much, but I think the best way to describe Wille is ‘genius.’

“He's literally a genius. I think you could go there and shadow him for 20 years and then start off by yourself and you wouldn't be able to replicate his success or anything like that. His mind is absolutely fantastic. It's how he thinks. It's just amazing.

“No-one could put their finger on what actually makes Willie Mullins, Willie Mullins.”

Is he up there in the pantheon of Irish sporting greats?

AC: “Yeah, I suppose he is. Along with Aidan O'Brien especially because Ireland's a lot smaller, horse racing's a lot more in everybody's homes in Ireland. Ireland is also more rural.

“It's a big sport in Ireland. Everybody in Ireland would know who Willie Mullins is, Aidan O’Brien too. In the UK, because it's a bigger country it's just not as ingrained in the culture as in Ireland.

“In Ireland these guys would be household names.”

What did you make of Dylan Browne McMonagle’s season?

AC: “I spent a lot of time with Dylan in Covid year. I went back to Ireland, and I spent a couple of months at Joseph O’Brien’s. Dylan was there then. It wouldn't have taken a very intelligent person to figure out he was going to be champion jockey or very successful to be honest.

“He was never really not going to do this. He's always a brilliant rider and he always had an old head and young shoulders.

“The pony racing in Ireland would be the main reason behind unearthing all these talented riders. Most of us came through it. Any one jockey that's from Ireland would have pony raced. It’s not like pony racing over here. It does stand you in good stead for what to expect when you start race riding up under rules proper.”

Will Jack Kennedy’s injuries impare his abilities as a jockey?

AC: “I don't think that will stop his riding ability. I don't think Jack Kennedy now with six broken legs is a worse jockey than he was before he broke his legs; even though he started breaking his legs very young. But obviously the worry with Jack is suffering more injuries. You would just love to see him get a couple of years of no injury and then his body can properly heal.

“He does give it the time these days but at the same time it's one injury after another. What a talent he is. It’s just incredible what he has achieved with all that time on the sidelines.

“His mindset is more impressive than anything else.”

Would reality TV interest you post-retirement?

AC: “No, that wouldn't be for me at all. I'd be no good at anything like that. I couldn't imagine it.

“Anyway, you need to be famous to be on these things. I think if you were getting someone like me on one of those shows, that would be beginning at the end of the show!

“That goes back to what I said earlier about jockeys and people in racing being household names in Ireland. The horse racing is so much bigger over there than this here. That's kind of a good example of it.”

What have you made of Stephen Power, the Racing Blogger?

AC: “You have to respect the Blogger. France Galop employ him, and I see Australia embracing him around the Melbourne Cup and they're reaping the rewards of his enthusiasm.

“He's real. That’s his strength. I've done a few things with him. You can't help but be a little bit infected by his passion for it. I'm all for him and think fair play. It's great to see him getting a bit of recognition at these places.

“He's living his dream basically which is great to see, and I think it's important.

“But on the flip side, everybody knows horse racing exists in the UK.

“They'll have watched the Grand National or they've heard of the Derby or the Gold Cup.

“They know it exists. Like I know bowls exists. You can get every influencer, put it on mainstream TV, but I still won't watch it. It's just not my sport. It's just not for me.

“So, people know racing exists. But they don't watch it.

“There's only so much you can do. Ramming it down people’s throats kind of annoys the people who do follow the sport and like it. You're pushing away the people who follow the sport and are fans of it, for people who probably never will like it or never will be a fan or never will be in the sport or a supporter of it.

“I think racing goes a bit far trying to pander to the people who ultimately don't really care about the sport, and they forget about the people in the sport.

“It's not saying don't try and get new people into the sport. But maybe a bit more education on welfare and regulatory issues would probably be more effective than paying some influencer a lot of money just to send a tweet out.”

What does the future look like for you?

AC: “I'd love to know the answer to that, but I don't. I just know through dealing with Fergal, and the experience I have of the racing calendar and how things work and how horses work. I think I have a lot to offer through my experience. I know horses and I can still ride them.

“I still have plenty to offer. But channeling that into a specific title or role I don't actually know.

“But there's something there, advisory work maybe.

“I want to be within racing. It's where I've been for the last 20 years, it's been good for me. It owes me nothing.”