Jonjo OĠNeill is a former national hunt jockey turned trainer. During his career as a jockey OĠNeill won the Champion Jockey title twice, and partnered Dawn Run to her victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Today, OĠNeill is recognised as a great trainer in his own right, and has developed a reputation as one of the finest trainers of hurdlers in national hunt racing. Racing Profile: Jonjo OĠNeill ended his successful career as a national hunt jockey in 1990, retiring with 885 wins to his name, including victories in the Champion Hurdle and Cheltenham Gold Cup. After his retirement, OĠNeill discovered he had cancer and battled with the disease for years, whilst simultaneously developing his training facilities. OĠNeillĠs first decade as a trainer was only moderately successful. However, this was to change in the new millennium, as JP McManus, one of the most powerful racehorse owners in national hunt racing, signed OĠNeill on as his first choice trainer and helped him relocate to the Jackdaws Castle training facilities in Gloucestershire. Achievements: After his move to Jackdaws Castle OĠNeill began to enjoy a steady supply of talented racehorses from McManus. This led to a steady improvement in results, and OĠNeill crossed the 100 wins in a season mark in 2001/2002, thereby becoming the first person to achieve this landmark as both a jockey and a trainer. OĠNeill soon began building his impressive record in Grade 1 hurdlesĠ races and won his first Triumph Hurdle in 2003. A year later, OĠNeill won the Aintree Hurdle at the Grand National Meeting, and started a trend of victories in major hurdles races at the Grand National Meeting that would continue until 2007. 254pp + photos.
