Image © Healy Racing
Ronan McParland continued a productive start to the autumn campaign when Surf The Wave’s success at Tattersalls on Sunday gave him a third winner in a fortnight across point-to-points and the racecourse.
The Colin Bowe-trained five-year-old landed the concluding unplaced maiden by a length and a half, taking the Crookstown rider’s career tally between the flags to three.
It followed victory aboard James Nash’s Couldntmakeitup at Loughrea on October 11 and a particularly meaningful first track winner on Tuckmill at Punchestown two days later.
Owned and bred by his grand-uncle Tom McParland, the Peter Fahey-trained Tuckmill carried the family colours to an eight-length success at a racecourse Ronan has visited since childhood.
“They were my great-grandmother’s colours before that, I’m fairly sure. It was very sweet, and for Peter Fahey as well, who has been a supporter of mine for a long time. That was a proper day.
“Punchestown is the one track I was dreaming of riding a winner at. A lot of local people were there that I’ve known for a long time, and for it to be somewhere I’ve been going since a child was just savage.”
Tom, who formerly owned and ran the Kildare Chilling factory, has enjoyed a longstanding involvement as an owner and breeder. Tuckmill, a son of the family’s mare Newhall, is his last remaining homebred in training, although he also shares the Willie McCreery-trained Flat winner Chapel Lane with Joseph Kirwan.
Ronan’s grandfather, also Ronan, was a Kildare Hunt master, while his father Bryan, the long-time proprietor of the Stream Inn in Calverstown, encouraged his interest in racing. The family’s sporting connections also include his cousin, former Kildare footballer Padraig Fogarty.
Hunting and pony club provided his early grounding, followed by riding racehorses at Fran Flood’s yard when he was around ten or 11. Experience with Ross O’Sullivan, Peter Fahey and Sean Doyle followed before he moved to Wexford after completing his Leaving Certificate.
Tuckmill has become something of a family pet, and retirement had been considered before a third-placed effort at Navan in September suggested there was still more to come.
“I rode him in Bellewstown and he ran terrible. I thought we were probably going to finish him up, bring him home and let him out.
“We said we’d give him one more run, and he finished third at Navan. I said, ‘This horse still has a little spark. Maybe if he runs like that again the next day, we might have a chance.’
“He went to Punchestown and travelled everywhere. I was very happy everywhere, winging hurdles for sport.”
Tuckmill had also held an entry at Cork on the preceding Sunday, but McParland was keen to fulfil his engagement on Couldntmakeitup at Loughrea. Connections opted for Punchestown, allowing him to partner both winners.
The opportunity with James Nash arose through Ross O’Sullivan, for whom McParland rides out when home in Kildare.
“Ross said James Nash had rung looking for a novice rider. He sent me his number and told me to ring him straight away.
“I said I’d be happy to go up and school the horse. I schooled him that week and went up again the following week, then thankfully he won at Loughrea.”
Now 20, McParland is based with Colin Bowe six mornings a week. Having previously worked regularly for Rob James in the afternoons, he has broadened his contacts and spends his evenings schooling for several yards, including James Kenny and Harley Dunne.
“I wouldn’t be one for finishing at one o’clock and sitting at home. It suits me better to go around schooling.
“I’m riding 15 or 20 horses every day and trying to make this work.”
That determination extends to seeking opportunities on the racecourse, with McParland happy to travel for outsiders as he builds experience and makes himself known.
“I’d ring everyone every weekend, and I ring for an awful lot of rides on the track. I don’t really get them, but I just keep ringing because when you do get them, you get a bit of satisfaction.
“I went to Clonmel last Thursday and drove the whole way to Sligo on Friday, but it’s good to be seen riding on the track.”
Sunday’s Tattersalls winner was his first of the season for Bowe, who also supplied his breakthrough victory on Roi Du Roume at Borris House last November.
“He’s my main supporter and looks after me very well. He’s an absolute gent to work for. It was nice to get one for him.”
McParland also went close in Sunday’s novice riders’ open, finishing a length second to Lifetime Ambition aboard David Christie’s West Of Idaho. Barry O’Neill helped introduce him to the Christie yard, which has become another important source of opportunities.
“David is an unbelievable man to be riding for. He’s got some good horses and he’s always there for me when I don’t have a spin off someone else.
“West Of Idaho ran a cracker. He’s still only learning, and it’s a big difference going into open company.”
The recent successes are particularly welcome after injuries interrupted last season. A wrist fracture delayed his return in the autumn, while a broken collarbone brought another spell of around six weeks on the sidelines later in the campaign.
With momentum now building, his immediate priority is to keep riding regularly. The novice riders’ series is among his targets, while turning conditional remains a longer-term possibility.
“My aim is to ride every weekend. Once I’m riding every weekend, I don’t mind. I definitely don’t want to sit out any weekends.
“I like to be as proactive as I can. I’m fairly locked in this year, to be honest. I’m dedicated and working hard.”
