Irish youngster looks a star of the future

The winners are already flowing at three different tracks for Dylan Browne McMonagle since his arrival from Ireland.

At the same time that Damien Oliver hangs up his saddle for the final time, a new star has emerged on the Australian racing scene. Dylan Browne McMonagle will be a jockey that is already familiar to those who follow racing in Europe, but you need to remember the name for those who don't.

There are few better training combinations than Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, so any young jockey linking up with them will get plenty of opportunities. McMonagle already has plenty of experience for a big yard. This step to Australia is an excellent chance for him to further his education before returning to Ireland, where we predict he will be a champion jockey sooner rather than later.

Already a star in the making

The numbers he has already put up in Ireland are excellent for one with so few years of experience, already 220 winners in Ireland and the UK combined. They include a Group 1, two Group 2 races, eight Group 3 contests on top of seven Listed races and a string of big handicaps where his claim was quickly used to great effect by canny trainers.

He has quickly put five winners on the board in Australia, effortlessly adapting to a different style of track where the distance from the bend into the finishing straight to the winning line is a fraction of what it is on most European courses. That suggests he is a hoop of immense natural talent we will enjoy seeing more of in the coming weeks.

Caulfield saw a first winner and first double

Dublin Journal will be the answer in pub quizzes in years to come when asked about the first winner for McMonagle on these shores. In the Lindsay Park Bloodstock colours that Mr Brightside has sported to great success in recent years, it was a brave ride, squeezing through a tiny gap on the rails.   

There are few better ways to get on the map than by riding a double at a metro track on a Saturday, which is precisely what McMonagle did. While Damien Oliver took all the headlines on Saturday, and rightfully so, Running By and Boldinho, both winning for Maher and Eustace, were noted as further winners for McMonagle. 

His Second ride at The Valley salutes

There are not many tracks that are as difficult to ride as The Valley, so his second ride there to pass the post in front was impressive. The appropriately named Exceed The Dream is helping to fuel that dream in Australia, picking up her first win at the sixth time of asking. It was a well-timed ride, kicking at the perfect point of the turn to run out an easy winner. A fifth winner came at Bendigo on Sunday with Flamin' Romans getting on the pace early and never coming back.

Further winners this week?

McMonagle heads to Seymour for a single ride on Thursday on Musgrave in the last race - the gelding is currently the favourite with the horse racing bookmakers. He will be busy at Cranbourne on Friday, five rides plus an EM1, but all at roughie prices. Saturday has him back at The Valley with a strong book of rides, including the red-hot Dark Halo in the first race, a $1.70 chance at the time of writing.

It took 12 losers before McMonagle rode his first winner in Australia, but he has put five on the board in just 12 rides since to show his class. He has a huge reputation in Europe and looks set to show exactly why that is in his stint here.