McConnell off the mark in 'the Jerry Hannon' Cillian McConnell, 19 year old son of trainer John McConnell, registered his first winner as a jockey at the Curragh today on his father's well-backed Sagittarius Rising (25/1 — 12s) in the PaddyPower Jerry Hannon Appreciation Handicap. McConnell, having his 11th ride, held up Sagittarius Rising behind the leaders for much of the race and when asked for effort two furlongs out, the son of Camacho quickened to lead in the closing strides and beat Mogwli by a neck. Cillian McConnell speaks similarly to his father, a qualified vet, and reported to RacingTV: “I went to school in Monaghan and did my leaving cert. I wasn’t sure about college so I went to work full-time for John. “I took out an apprentice license before lockdown but had to wait a while to get going. I’ve a few options whether to keep riding or go to college next year and I’ll see how Dundalk goes in the next couple of months. “Dad has a good team of horses and I’m in competition with Siobhan (Rutledge) who is riding very well.” McConnell senior was on lead-up duty and added “I made Cillian defer college for a year as he’s very good helping me at home. This is probably the first horse he’s really had a chance on and he did well. “The horse was off the bridle a long way from home and he kept at it. “I’m delighted for Cillian and he’s well able to ride. He’s started a long way behind the lads doing pony racing but he’s clever and can catch them up. “In fairness Colin Keane said to drop this horse back to six on that ground and he was right.” The race was run in appreciation of Paddy Power's former part-time employee and popular racecourse commentator Jerry Hannon, who called his own race. Quotes from Alan Magee
