Barry Connell: 'The more we saw of Michael the more we liked him - we had a magical time together'

For just over two years, their partnership was the most successful in their respective training and riding careers, a period trainer Barry Connell described as a "magical time together".

It began with a phone call from Michael O'Sullivan to Connell in May 2022. 

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Connell recounts: "Michael had ridden for me in a point-to-point the year before. We had no stable amateur at the time and we had Marine Nationale entered in a bumper at the Punchestown May meeting. Michael rang wondering if I had anyone to ride him, and asked if he could. From his perspective, he was at home working on the farm and took a chance. Often fate can just be a phone call, you don't know where it could lead.

"I was hugely impressed by horse and rider on the day. I rang Michael shortly afterwards and asked if he'd be interested in coming in and riding out for a few days a week. He started doing that and the more we saw of him, the more we liked him. I had no stable jockey as such at the time, so a couple of months later I sat down with him and told him I thought he should turn professional."

Michael O'Sullivan rides Marine Nationale to victory at Punchestown in May 2022Credit: Caroline Norris (racingpost.com/photos)

The rest is history, with the 2022-23 season highlighted by Marine Nationale winning the Grade 1 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle and the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham, as well as Good Land taking a Grade 1 novice hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival.

Connell said: "It was fairytale stuff for the two of us over the next 12 months after he said 'yes' to turning pro. We just happened to have two Grade 1 horses in the yard at the time – some trainers never get a Grade 1 horse – and he really took the opportunities. 

"He went from winning a bumper in May to turning professional, and even though he was still claiming 5lb I had no compunction in putting him up on those Grade 1 horses because of his mentality and professionalism. He was very easy to deal with. He fitted in very well in the yard, had a great sense of humour and was great to have around the place.

"His composure to win the Royal Bond at Fairyhouse on Marine Nationale, in a race where everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong, was the main thing everyone took out of that race. We went straight to Cheltenham after that.

Michael O'Sullivan roars in celebration after winning the 2023 SupremeCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

"They were a unit, he and the horse. They understood each other. He got as much advice as he could get from the senior jockeys about riding at Cheltenham, and I think the race was won at the first hurdle. 

"Michael had one plan in mind, and that was to track the favourite Facile Vega, but the horse put in a tremendous leap at the first to take him upsides Facile Vega. However, he reined him back as he wanted to track that horse and have one go at him. He stuck to his plan, had one go coming down to the last, and won. 

"When he was interviewed afterwards he was very level-headed, talking about his family and everything his parents and grandparents had done for him. He showed a lot of humility given the occasion."

Victory on Jazzy Matty in the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle gave Michael O'Sullivan a Tuesday double at the 2023 Cheltenham FestivalCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Connell added: "One of my abiding memories was standing in the parade ring before the Ballymore on the second day of that meeting. Michael was riding Good Land in the race for me, and one of the officials came out to me with the gold armband and asked me to put it on Michael, as he had been the leading rider on day one. It was an enormous achievement and showed how far he'd come in less than a year.

"We had a magical time together and I'll always cherish the memories.”

Read more:

• Tribute: Michael O'Sullivan was an overwhelmingly likeable human, a horseman and a gentleman who had the world at his feet 
• 'Michael O'Sullivan was a hero, extremely intelligent and a beautiful young man' - social media tributes flow in