“I’m In Awe Of The Place”: Melbourne Cup Winner Robbie Dolan Sets Sights On Japan
There are no signs of Robbie Dolan’s post-Melbourne Cup whirlwind slowing down just yet: the jockey has his sights set on a world riding tour in 2025 and Japan is on the agenda.
ONE OF THE perks of Melbourne Cup glory is that the miniature jockeys’ trophy often acts as a key that opens doors throughout the racing world and Robbie Dolan is keen to take advantage.
The 28-year-old became the sixth jockey to win the Melbourne Cup in his 20s since 2000, joining Kerrin McEvoy, Michael Rodd, Blake Shinn, Jye McNeil and James McDonald. Each of those jockeys parlayed their Cup win into an overseas stint and all bar McNeil have won a Group 1 outside Australia following their success.
Dolan plans to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors by pursuing opportunities abroad and Japan and Hong Kong are top of the list.
“Every jockey in Australia dreams of winning the Melbourne Cup,” Dolan told Idol Horse. “When I established myself down here, it was certainly my dream to win it. Now that I’ve achieved that, my number one goal is to ride internationally and to get some good experience abroad. I watch racing from Japan and Hong Kong and it would just be remarkable to find myself there.”
“Japan is certainly number one on my bucket list. I’m just in awe of the place – I love the culture, I love the racing and I’m really hoping to experience it. Within the next 12 months, I’m hoping to do a short-term stint in Japan. From what I know of their fans, I think they would appreciate my character just as much as I appreciate them!”
If ever there was a foreign jockey set up for success among Japanese racing fans, it’s the charismatic Irishman with the blond-tipped hair and the enchanting backstory. Dolan found success on the other side of the world and not just as a rider, but also as a singer after appearing on reality television show The Voice.
The fairytale Melbourne Cup win on outsider Knight’s Choice catapulted his fame to another level, both at home and abroad. When Dolan outmuscled the popular Akira Sugawara in a Cup finish for the ages, it also established his profile in Japan.
Dolan’s love of Japanese racing is apparent: on cue, he can rattle off a list of Japan’s greatest racehorses and their exploits. One of his favourites is Kitasan Black, whose owner – legendary enka singer Saburo Kitajima – was renowned for serenading fans on the microphone at post-race presentations.
“Maybe I could be the first jockey to perform after the races there!” Dolan said. “I’ve got 12 months until the Japan Cup, I’ll have to learn a song in Japanese.
“I really want to ride in a Japan Cup, it’s probably the race above all others that I’d love to experience now. I’ve watched it the last 10 years or so and it looks like it’s just getting bigger, if that’s even possible. To ride in a race of that calibre would be something I never could have imagined.”
There is a possibility that Dolan could find himself at Tokyo next November aboard Knight’s Choice. Trainer Sheila Laxon has indicated that an international campaign was on the cards for the Melbourne Cup winner and the five-year-old could even appear in Japan earlier than the Japan Cup, with the G1 Tenno Sho Spring (3200m) on April 28 an option.
“I don’t think anything’s been completely decided yet but there are plenty of options,” Dolan said. “One of them is the Makybe Diva path, with a lead-up run into the two-mile race over there, and I know he’s had an invitation for Dubai too. That’s not to mention all of the races here. Wherever he goes, I hope he can prove just how talented he is.”
Before he emigrated to Australia in 2016, Dolan had ridden three winners in his native Ireland and two in Scotland. He has since competed in one Future Stars race for apprentices at Chantilly in France in 2018 and he had his first chance to ride in New Zealand on Karaka Million day earlier this year.
Dolan is likely to be in hot demand for various global jockeys series in 2025, which could include the Shergar Cup at Ascot and the World All-Star Jockeys at Sapporo – both in August – as well as the International Jockeys’ Championship at Happy Valley next December.
Longer term, he hopes that one day he could return to where it all started – on the plains of Kildare.
“It’s always in the back of my mind to go back home to Ireland and ride for a little bit, maybe not in the next 12 months but at some point,” he said. “I would love to ride in an Irish Derby, since I was a kid it was the race that was always such a big deal. It’s not as easy though as simply saying, I want to ride in it and magically having a ride appear. You’ve got to put the work in to be rewarded with a ride.
“It would be cool though to go back and ride in a big race on home soil. I think the last few weeks have shown that anything can happen.” ∎
