Alex Harvey© Photo Healy Racing
I grew up in a small village called the Naul in north County Dublin. My grandfather, who is originally from south County Dublin, moved up and he started training racehorses in the 1980s. He trained all the way up until the early 2000s. There was always an interest there. My dad rode a bit as an amateur - he maybe had 10 or 12 rides, but he did a lot of hunting. I kind of got into it from that. Once I got older and strong enough, I started riding racehorses and it went from there. I used to go racing a lot when I was younger and kind of fell in love with it then. It was all I kind of wanted to do really. Jockey Ben (Harvey) is my older brother. We pushed each other along, we kind of both wanted the same things. We raced the ponies on the gallop at home against each other.
I had my first ride on Minella On Line for my father in a point-to-point at Moira in October 2020. He was a good old horse and I was very lucky to have him as I ended up riding my first winner on him at Punchestown point-to-point in May 2021. It was definitely a special day. He was some operator, you just bucked him out and sent him away. I was very fortunate to have a horse like that to start out on. I think going down the amateur route as a jockey is a great grounding and so is point-to-pointing for everyone starting off. You can ride as many winners as you want to point-to-pointing and they don't affect your claim on the track. I think that is a good help. I won the Spring Novice Riders Series in 2022 when I had a good season that year and I think I finished second in the Under-21 Championship as well. I had good support from the likes of Brian Hamilton that year and I was able to get going in the point-to-points.
John McConnell is local to us and Ben started with him when he was about 15. I started going in there when I was about 16 or 17. I would do summers and school holidays. Ben was injured in the summer I was about 18 or 19 and I got the chance to ride a few bumper horses. John was good to me and gave me my first track winner on Eco Pete in a bumper at Downpatrick in August 2021. It was a great buzz and Downpatrick always gets a great crowd. It was actually the last leg of a treble for John which made it more special. It was a day I won't forget. John's horses seem to do well in the summer and the majority of his horses handle Downpatrick. It is a place he usually has a winner or two at.
I suppose there were more opportunities for me on the track than point-to-pointing which led to me turning conditional with John. My weight was very good and I had 10 winners after my 7lb claim, so I thought it was kind of now or never to turn. I made the decision to turn for the new season (in May) and I'm delighted with the way things are going now. I spoke with John about it in February time and I said I would stick out college for the year and then turn. That coincided with the start of the new season. Down Royal was my first day as a conditional.
I'm still in college in Maynooth studying Business at the moment. I'm going into final year now, but I'm able to manage studying and riding. It seems to be working out, so I will stick at it. I was busy away as an amateur last year and I was still tipping away in college, so it can be done. It is not a hectic course and I can put most of my attention into the horses. At the end of next May, I will hopefully be finished college and it will be nice to have something behind me for the future if I ever need it.
Alex winning on Dollar Value at Roscommon last month© Photo Healy Racing
My agent, Garry Cribbin, has been a huge help to me in getting me out there to different trainers and putting me up on outside horses. I have also made a few contacts point-to-pointing with the likes of David Christie which helps. I suppose with a bit of luck on my side, it all helps. I was conditional when I rode my first double at Kilbeggan (in July) and I'd say that was my best day in the saddle to date. I went there thinking I had a few chances and thankfully it worked out. I got a great kick out of that. I had another double at Sligo last week. There's plenty of racing over the summer which is a great help as you have more chances to ride a winner. It is a good time of year to be on the go and I can't complain.
It is a family-run operation at home between Ben, myself and my father. We are on first lot at 6am and I think you get rewarded in the long run for hard work if you stay at it. I would then be in John's at 8am until 1pm/1.30pm. Then I might go riding work afterwards if I'm needed. John has a great eye for a horse. He doesn't spend huge money on his horses, but he always does very well with them. He gives you a different perspective into training horses and when they are right and what to do with them. He's a great mentor and I'm very lucky. My goals are to do the best I can and leave as little room for error as possible. If I can do that, I'm going to leave most people happy and I should have a few winners along the way. My aim is to be a full-time professional jockey once college finishes.
Alex was in conversation with Michael Graham.
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