Image © Healy Racing
Pa King enjoyed a successful weekend between the flags, riding his first two winners of the season at Lisronagh and Rathcannon.
The Holycross rider opened his account aboard Willie Murphy’s Follow Markava on Saturday before teaming up with his wife Áine to land the older geldings’ maiden with Derby Rock on Sunday.
Trained and ridden by King and carrying Áine’s colours, Derby Rock went one better than his two previous starts this season, when runner-up at Castletown-Geoghegan and Umma House.
“He was bought for a bit of fun and there are a few of us involved. He’s been fun, and to get him to win was great,” King said.
“He’d had two nice runs on tighter tracks and stayed going well both days. I thought the bigger track would suit him better, so we were confident enough of a big run.”
Derby Rock could now be aimed at a winners’ race, while a return to the track is another possibility.
“He’s for sale as well and he has nice marks over hurdles and fences, so he has a few options.”
King’s first winner of the weekend came courtesy of Follow Markava, who made all to score by 38 lengths at Lisronagh, six days after finishing second at Curraghmore.
“I school a few horses for Willie when I can and he’s very good to me, so it was nice to get the first winner for him.
“She didn’t have much luck last year and was a bit fresh and keen at Curraghmore. She turned around quickly and did it well.”
The weekend success came as King prepares for a new chapter, having taken out a restricted trainer’s licence.
The decision was prompted by the owners of Changeyourstars, who opted to keep the promising mare to race on the track.
Changeyourstars provided King with his first winner as a point-to-point handler when he also partnered the daughter of Shirocco to victory at Tallow in February 2025. She subsequently went into training under his brother James’s name, winning a maiden hurdle at Limerick last December and finishing second in a Grade 3 at Gowran Park.
“We had a licence at home under my brother, but he has other commitments now and was getting away from the horses.
“After Changeyourstars won her point-to-point, she went to the sales but wasn’t sold. The owners decided to keep her to run on the track and left the option to keep her with me. She’s quite a nice mare, so it was basically for her.
“It was probably something that was at the back of my mind anyway. When you’re training a horse, it’s always handy to have the option of running one in a bumper or a hurdle race.”
Changeyourstars had been declared for a beginners’ chase at Wexford on Wednesday, but King decided against running her because of the drying ground.
He currently has five point-to-pointers alongside the mare and has no immediate plans to expand while he continues riding.
“Everything is for sale, so it’s important that they go on and do something. I’d never be disappointed to see them go on and do well for someone else, but when the owners give you the option of keeping a mare like her, they don’t come along too often.
“While I’m still riding, training takes a lot of commitment and I don’t want to take on too much yet. Maybe in the future.”
The highlight of King’s riding career came at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival, when he partnered the Sam Curling-trained Angels Dawn to victory in the Kim Muir on his first ride at the meeting.
“I was riding a long time before I had a ride at the Festival. I always thought I’d love to ride there and try to ride a winner—even just to be there and ride would have been special.
“To have a winner there was definitely special.”
For now, riding remains his priority, although he enjoys the work involved in preparing young horses.
“Riding is definitely the bigger buzz, but I enjoy spending time with the horses and being hands-on with them, bringing them along.
“I’m not sure I’d want to train a big yard of horses. At the moment, I prefer producing youngsters and passing them on.
