Hannah Phillips

I'm from Fethard, Co Tipperary and we've always had horses around the yard. Dad trained when I was growing up, and mum and dad both race rode. My mum's side of the family would be very horsey. My grandad was an amateur jockey over in England and my nan trained horses. My aunt Charlotte rode as well on the Flat. Everything was all horses, so I was bred into the game. Dad got out of training when I was about 12. I was very proud of my mum, Lucy Townsley, being a former lady champion point-to-point rider and my dad, Mick Phillips, being senior champion point-to-point rider twice. They were good role models growing up. They were tough workers with a really good work ethic.

My brother and I did a lot of showing and eventing growing up. We went over to England competing with showing and with the eventing we mainly stayed in Ireland. It was nice growing up. We were always into the horses and then I kind of drifted away from them when I went into college. Just a completely different lifestyle, the social aspect, and kind of the side of life I hadn't seen before. I studied for a Degree in Health, Science and Nutrition at college in Athlone. I had a brilliant time for the four years. I stayed there during the week and then I went to my mum in Galway at weekends. I came out of the horses a little bit as I was working at the weekends. Mum and dad always said if we wanted to do the horses, do them, and if you don't, you don't have to do them.

When I left Athlone, I was supposed to go on a J-1 visa to America with my friends, but dad needed me down at home. He had an operation and needed some help, so I moved back home to give him a hand while he was recovering. I got back into riding then. We had a half-bred mare that I started riding and we qualified her for Dublin for the Young Event Horse Class. That got the hunger and the bug back. I was then meant to go to Australia with one of my best friends and we had the visas under way, but then Covid-19 hit so that put a complete stop to all of that. I was working in a hotel at the time and they all shut down. Mum does acupuncture with horses and Tom Keating was looking for someone to ride out. She said I should go and give it a go during covid as something different. This was before the lockdown had really hit. Everything was still a bit up in the air with racing, so I went and started riding out. I was really nervous going in because it is completely different to event riding or show jumping. I remember on my first day I got absolutely ran away with on pretty much everything I rode bar this little chestnut horse who was a lovely horse. For the week after, I was in bits and all my muscles hurt, but I stuck at it and absolutely loved it. Tom has been in the game a long time and he knows what he is doing. The bug grew from there.

Tom was brilliant, but all racing stopped with covid and point-to-points all finished up. I then worked in Joseph Murphy's Flat yard in Fethard because I didn't want to stop working and not do anything. I was riding out and doing groundwork. Riding the Flat horses was completely different. I was there for four to five months and I left for Austria to work with show jumpers - grooming and riding. There was nothing going on here with covid, so I thought 'why not?' I had a great time in a beautiful country and the really lovely family had a gorgeous big estate. I worked there and got to travel around. I got the itch again, I didn't like standing on the sidelines watching someone else do it, I wanted to be back competing, so I came home and went back to work in Tom's. I took out my licence the following summer and I never looked back.

Tom gave me my first point-to-point winner on De Nordener at Ballyvodock in January 2022, the same season that I took out my licence. I was very lucky as it was my sixth or seventh ride, so it happened very quickly which was really nice. It was brilliant, it was kind of 'I can't believe this has just happened'. He was a fantastic little horse and I had great fun on him. He was a really nice starting horse. When I said I was going to take out my licence, I was lucky that dad was all for it and he said he would get me a horse because he knew how hard it was to start out. It is hard because you don't have the experience, but then you are dying for rides, and people don't want to give you rides because you don't have the experience. I was lucky after my first winner that I had another winner the same season on Miss Benjo at Stowlin in May. I was placed on a nice few horses in my first season. It was all rolling and going well. I've had six point-to-point winners now and I'm still doing that. I do love pointing.

I won a point-to-point on Maid On The Moon at Umma House in October 2023. She ran in the point-to-point season for that year. I had one win on her and she has been placed a heap of times. She was a right little mare and they decided to bring her to the track which was brilliant as it is so hard to get rides on the track. I've had some great experiences on her. I got to ride her in a couple of Grade 2 mares' novices' chases, one at Limerick over Christmas and another one at Thurles in January. I rode her in a Listed mares' chase in Clonmel in November which builds experience. You kind of have a little bit of imposter syndrome when you are lined up with the best jockeys in those races. It goes when the race starts as you have to ride your race. They are brilliant to ride against because it is a tidy race and you have to be tough in it as well as you have to keep your line. I think it really helps riding against the best.

I had my first racecourse winner on Maid On The Moon in a mares' handicap hurdle at Leopardstown in March. I remember being half disappointed on the Monday morning looking at the non runners as nothing had come out and it was getting closer to 10am, and she was a reserve. I was really looking forward to her. I came back in from a lot and Liz (Lalor, trainer) got a call saying that there was a horse out. Tom wasn't able to go to Leopardstown and Liz had her two kids and had to sort them out. John Whelan, who is involved with the mare, brought us up. He arrived at the yard at 10am and everything just came together. I could see the other mare (Goodie Girl) and I knew she was coming to me at the last. I saw out of the corner of my eye that she had fallen as we were nearly upsides jumping. We came in by 14 lengths then and it was amazing. It was more relief passing the line getting that win on her. She has been such a good little mare for me. I think I was over a year without a winner because I broke my back and it was the first winner since returning from injury. I broke it in April last year in Ballycrystal off Wine An Dine and I was back riding out at the end of August. He was a horse I had been riding all season long and I had won a race on him (at Turtulla in November 2023). I was unlucky not to win another up in Farmacaffley (February 2024) where I got unseated at the last. He had been placed a good few times and it was his last run before he headed to the sales. He had been second the week before in Tattersalls. He was a brilliant jumper, but he just came down to the first and I'm not sure what happened. My grandad always said to me that it is not a case of if you fall, it is when you fall. You can't be thinking about it.

I'm in with Tom every day and he has been very good to me. From the get-go, I was allowed to school and ride work so the experience has been brilliant. My goals are to build up contacts and keep contacts, get to know people and get rides. Even if it is not the best horse in the race, to be seen to give it a good ride - do everything you can to get it to place well. I'm trying to get out there and meet different people, go off schooling and sit on different horses. Irish racing is a community and you always meet somebody wherever you go and you get to know people. You come across some brilliant people whether it is owners, trainers or jockeys. It is tough work, but I really enjoy working in the Irish racing industry. You have to be willing to work to get on.

Hannah 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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