Nina Carberry Q&A: "You’re never told here ‘you can’t do that because you’re a girl’"
“Exactly. The big guns are starting to have their first runs of the season and it’s an exciting time of the year, everything is geared towards all the big festivals and you’d hope you’d get on a nice bumper horse and see it progress. I’ve ridden a few lately that will progress. It’s a nice feeling getting back on the winter horses again.”
“I’ve come from Meath, working with Noel Meade, down to Ballydoyle working for Aidan O’Brien and that was a big move for me coming down to Tipperary and it kind of went from there. I do the Flat with him during the summer and I’ve gained a lot of experience from him and it’s been great. It’s really opened my eyes about the Flat a bit more so I’m busy both times of the year now.”
“Well I’ve always wanted to see how the flat works and he is one of the best trainers in the world. It was one of the things I always wanted to do so I just went out and did it. It’s really good, I love it. It’s a different job obviously, it’s flat which I wouldn’t have been used to as I’ve grown up in a jumping family but it’s good to see a different view of it.”
“I’m riding his bumper horses still and it’s going well. He’s a great man to work for and I’ll continue riding for him, hopefully. I ride a few for Gigginstown and On the Fringe is there as well, I won at Cheltenham on him for JP McManus and it’s great to be able to keep the partnership with them. It’s not easy because I have another job so I don’t get to ride them [at home] and they’ve been very good to leave me on.”
“I’d love Road to Riches to progress from last year and see him go two better in the Gold Cup. He’s shown he’s a proper Grade One horse so I think that if everything goes right for him this season — Noel has found the key to him now and he held his form all last year — hopefully he’ll do that again this year and be a big contender. Don Cossack is another one that’s done well this season already so it will be interesting to see how he does at Christmas as well. I loved the Gold Cup winner [Coneygree] the other day, I think he’s going to be hard to beat if he keeps his form all season. Then there’s Vautour and Faugheen and Annie Power, there’s bucketloads of horses Willie has. I love this time of year, it’s exciting.”
“I’d say Road to Riches has gotten stronger and Apache Stronghold has to progress from what he did last year. Obviously he wasn’t a match for Vautour [at Cheltenham] so they’ll probably go a different route to Vautour because he was beaten a good bit by him but he’s definitely a Grade One contender, probably at a different distance.”
“You see it’s very hard for me or any girl from here to comment on it, as in I don’t know what situation they have over there for women, but here you’re on a level playing field. You’re never told ‘you can’t do that because you’re a girl’. It’s all about your ability here, to be honest. You’ll get your chance and the ladies’ races give us the opportunity to show that we can ride properly and when trainers put horses in they’re supporting you and the whole industry is supporting ladies’ races. I don’t know how it’s set up over there, it’s hard to know, but she obviously felt that. But at the end of the day she did ride in the Melbourne Cup, she did get the opportunity, and she was good enough.”
“There’s always the Aintree National, it’s the one everyone wants to win. I’ve done well in it, gone around, I’d have preferred to finish closer but that’s the luck of the draw isn’t it? It’s like a lottery.”
“Depending on the horse, and you have to have luck. You could be on the best horse and fall at the first, it’s such a unique race. It’s the one everyone wants to win.”
