Disgraced jockey who served ten-year ban for corruption set to return to saddle aged 45
DISGRACED jockey Eddie Ahern is plotting a comeback this summer once his 10-year ban from the sport is over.
The 45-year-old was banned from race riding after being found guilty following a corruption hearing of deliberately stopping one of his mounts.
Ahern, a former Ireland champion apprentice, was subsequently banned for a decade for the breaches in May 2013.
Ex-professional football Neil Clement was found to have layed several of Ahern’s runners, with multiple communication between the pair taking place.
The bets – placed on the Betfair Exchange – included one in which Clement placed a spread bet which stood to lose £41,500 in order to win £8,500.
Ahern revealed on the Nick Luck Daily podcast he eyes a return to British racing when his ban finishes up.
He must first reapply for a license, revealing he will stay put in England rather than return to Ireland.
Asked by Luck if he was plotting an incredible return to race riding, Ahern replied: “I think the answer here is yes!
“The reason I say that so quickly is that I’ve lost a lot of weight and I feel good in myself and feel there’s a few more years of race riding in me yet.
“I don’t know if I want to go chasing up and down the country but I would like to go to nice meetings to ride nice horses.
“I think if I get back on the racecourse and ride a good winner, all those feelings of pleasure of riding a racehorse will come flooding back and I’ll get the bug straight away.”
Ahern revealed he has remained in the sport in Ireland during his absence from racedays.
He added: “I went back to Ireland and was riding out for Jim Bolger.
“In the morning time I was riding out in the morning, then buying and selling ponies and horses in the afternoon.
“So that was my hobby and it was a good income in the afternoons to be producing ponies and selling them on.
“I got into the breaking, pre-training and breeze-ups.”
Ahern is aware there could be some backlash from punters if he was to return.
He believes his focus has changed significantly, believing the sport ‘came too easily to him’ previously.
And he’s keen to try and enjoy it a bit more this time around, should the racing chiefs let him return.
Asked if he is content within himself to deal with any potential backlash, he added: “Definitely!
“Because when you take yourself out of racing for a long time, you see your life a bit differently.
“You behave differently, you work harder and you’re more dedicated – I think it just came too easily to me.
“Get up in the morning, ride out, go racing then come home. I’d ride a few winners then do it all again tomorrow.
“Now I have to run a business and look after staff and people’s horses. It is a 24/7 job and you’re living at the yard having to have to be there all the time.
“I’m definitely more responsible now and definitely more focussed. My memory is so much better now, my brain has just opened up.
“When I watch racing now I think ‘I’ve won races there, or I’ve won that race before’. You don’t realise all that at the time.
“At the time you don’t appreciate it. Now, I’m looking at photographs of James Doyle and Adam Kirby and the boys going racing and go ‘I miss that, I used to do that’.
“But when I was doing that, I don’t think I appreciated that.
“So I want to go back and enjoy all that second time round.
He reckons his discipline has improved in the interim as he goes in search of a dramatic comeback.
And already plans to ride for some of the old trainers who backed him previously.
He continued: “I would definitely be staying in England with Holly [Smith], it’s an English license I’ll be holding.
“I don’t think Ireland is big enough for me, I don’t think there’s enough racing and don’t think there’s enough jockeys and trainers.
“England make it a little bit more easier and young trainers I don’t even really know at this stage.
“But if I can go back to some of the old trainers again and get my name back out there again, funnel in nice and quiet, that would be nice.
“You can only do one meeting nowadays and the weights have gone up and I’m more disciplined now with everything I do.
Ahern must first get over a bad leg break he picked up in spring last year.
After his leg twice rejected a nail incision, causing severe infections, Ahern remains under hospital care but is on the mend.
And he hopes it could be times perfectly for him to return.
He finished: “I think I’ll be looking ahead to the summer. I’ll be eight stone if I stay in this hospital!
“There’s a lot of work to be done on my leg to get the muscle back but it should all tie in nicely to my comeback return.”
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chases their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
- Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
- Gamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org