THE RISE AND RISE OF RYAN MALONEY
By Graham Potter | Monday, January 30, 2023
Ryan Maloney’s win aboard the Tony Gollan trained Skirt The Law in the $2 million Magic Millions Classic earlier this month was another significant notch on the feature race winning record of the rider whose life has seen a dramatic, favourable, hard-earned and well deserved turnaround over the last four years.
Two decisions, backed by a whole lot of commitment and talent, paved the way for Maloney’s path to success.
The first big call, which came in June 2018, was a brave one made in not the best of circumstances.
Maloney was about to come off a four-month suspension imposed by Racing Victoria stewards for use of a banned stimulant and, although he would only recognise it later, he had not been in a good place mentally for a while with the relentless riding workload of jockeys in Victoria being a significant contributing factor to what he would later describe as ‘burnout.’
The decision to take up an offer from Toby Edmonds and move to the Gold Coast was to be the first life changing decision which would help resurrect both Maloney’s career and his wellbeing.
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“I rode a horse down in Melbourne for Toby Edmonds which won on Cox Plate day and I think that is what struck up our association,” said Maloney.
“That planted the seed ... and, at the time when Toby offered me the opportunity to join him, I thought I had nothing to lose, so I had a crack and I’ve never looked back.
“The fact that I was going to a good stable (Edmonds was second on the Brisbane Premiership table at the time), did make the decision easier I guess, but it was basically made on the basis that I had nothing to lose.”
It wasn’t just a change of location and family lifestyle for Maloney ... it was a drastic change of professional workload ... a welcome lessoning of the daily grind and stress that can wear jockeys out.
“It was basically seven days a week in Victoria,” explained Maroney. “There is constant trackwork and trials ... the race meetings ... the night meetings and the amount of travelling you have to do, so even when you had a day off from racing you were either doing trials or trackwork.
“Through all of the changeover period, I got a better understanding of myself and I know now to take time off when I need to.”
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Maloney’s second big call came during the height of the Covid epidemic ... another significant decision which would help propel his career to a whole new level.
“That came about when Covid hit. It was leading into the Winter Carnival and we had to select the zones in which we were going to ride,” explained Maloney.
“I told Toby I was going to change my zone. I asked Tony (Gollan) if there was any room for me and he said, yeah.
“The opportunities that came were just a natural progression from there.
“Apart from Tony, and others, the first four rides I had for David Vandyke all won ... so that struck up a good association there straight away ... and again, I haven’t looked back.
‘Obviously, if you are riding for the top stables you are always going to be in that prime position ... and I’ve been lucky to get there with the opportunities I’ve been given, with good horses and a good manager.
“It is really a bit of everything that has helped me, not least the fact that I am enjoying my time in Queensland, a fact that impacts positively on my mindset and my riding.
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It is not only a question of getting opportunities ... more, importantly, it is a question of taking and making the most of them.
Maloney won his first ever Premiership when he took out the Brisbane Jockey’s Premiership in the 2020/21 season with seventy-seven winners.
Among many other credits, with Skirt The Law’s win in January Maloney is also only the third rider, behind Hugh Bowman and James McDonald, to have won both the $2 Magic Millions Two-year-Old Classic and the $2 million Magic Millions Three-year-old Guineas. (Alligator Blood was subsequently disqualified from the Guineas, but that final outcome is still under review in court proceedings and has yet to be ultimately decided).
“The Magic Millions race-day has given me my best and worst results,” said Maloney.
“The wins were obviously the “highs,” but, when I rode Isotope in the Guineas ... when I was looking for back-to-back wins in the race in 2021 on the favourite ... I was dislodged from the horse at the top of the straight.
“The ‘lows” don’t get much lower than that.
“You can find far worse trouble in a race than that sometimes, but you just clip one heel and it takes it all away in a race like that. It was very unfortunate.”
"The good part about the Isotope story is that we came back and won the $1 Snippets at the same meeting a year later ... and that was really very satisfying.
“As far as Alligator Blood is concerned, I still talk to (owners) Jeff and Robyn Simpson quite regularly and, every now and again to Allan (Endresz).
“All I can say it that, whatever else has gone on with the horse changing stables and having to undergo a serious operation and now the court case, it is just so great to see what Alligator Blood has done.
‘He was written off. It is just s testament to the horse as to what he has been able to achieve since his return. I think it is great.
‘As far as Skirt The Law’s win goes ... that was just a perfect race. And, yes, I’m going to stick with her all of the way.
“Tony (Gollan) was very confident before the race, and I felt the same way ... one hundred percent. Tony is very good at getting them spot-on on the day. He is just a top trainer all around.
“He knows his horses inside out ... which is pretty hard to do when you’ve got a big team of horses. He knows where to place them, when to back off them, when to push them to their limit. He is as good as any trainer and it is obviously great for me to be part of that team.
“The Skirt The Law win was a big highlight.”
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Like any top jockey, Maloney makes fewer mistakes than his rivals and the decision making process which fuels that success ... be it in terms of judging pace, taking the right runs etc ... has a firm foundation in Maloney’s belief in his own ability and his confidence at being able to deliver the goods.
“It’s like they say, you can’t buy experience,” said Maloney.
‘The only time you should be nervous or not confident is when you haven’t done what is necessary beforehand ... crossing the t’s and dotting the I’s. When you know what’s underneath you, particularly when riding good horses for good trainers, it takes all that nervousness away.
“You can still make mistakes, obviously, but with all of my riding in big races now, I’ve got the experience to help me deal with things as they come up ... it certainly gives you a bit of awareness of what might be going to happen ... and I’m comfortable with where I am with that.
“But the bottom line is that I’m really content with my life now, both personally and professionally.
“We’ve just bought a ten-acre property out near Canungra ... and just going out there makes it easier to switch off. It’s peaceful and its quiet.
“If your life away from the track is content it makes it even easier for you when you are at work.”
Sound advice from a man right on top of his game.
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