HOW TRAGIC DEATHS ARE INSPIRING TOP APPRENTICE
By Simon Mapletoft
The tragic deaths of his brother Niall and close friend Stefano Cherchi in the space of just two and a half short years are inspiring this winter’s top apprentice Ryan Kavanagh to reach new heights.
He is closing in on becoming champion claimer on the All-Weather after sweeping past long-term leader Jack Callan, who had been riding in Australia, giving him the upper hand of being three winners in front.
Based in the West Midlands with Ian Williams, Kavanagh says the devastating loss of his elder brother to a brain tumour in late 2021 and his mentor Cherchi to a fall in Australia in the spring of 2024 continues to drive him on.
“Losing them has definitely inspired me,” says Kavanagh, who trained as an electrician before following in his family’s footsteps and venturing into the sport as a teenager with trainer Amy Murphy only five years ago - “just to earn some pocket money.”
Niall’s death was a turning point in what has become a career of considerable potential. “It definitely drew me into staying in the industry,” he adds. “I’m so focussed on making a life for myself in racing now and making the most of every minute I can. I always want to be doing the best I can for them.
"My brother was only 19 when he passed away, just before his 20th birthday. He’d been complaining of earache but it turned out to be a really aggressive tumour. He’d been in hospital for a month which was really tough as we never knew whether we’d see him again tomorrow. They did their best for him but in the end his brain just switched off and there was no coming back.
“Niall was so popular around Newmarket. He worked for the Jockey Club as a waiter and loved watching racing. He was very good mates with Cieren Fallon and a few other jockeys. Everyone knew Niall,” adds Kavanagh, whose father Noel is a work rider for Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby while younger brother Conal is an amateur with James Owen.
“After we lost Niall, the horses helped massively in the sense of keeping my mind on something else. Not in a sense of forgetting about it but distracting me. I needed that focus. Keeping busy has been such a help. I’ve not really taken days off. Working hard has really driven me on.”
The death of talented young jockey Cherchi following a fall at Canberra in the spring of 2024, so soon after trying to come to terms with the loss of his brother, was another devastating blow for this resilient and determined young man to overcome.
“Stefano helped me immensely,” he adds. I don’t think I’d be anywhere near where I am now if it wasn’t for him. I have a tattoo on my arm of the co-ordinates of where’s he’s buried in Sardinia. That just shows how much he meant to me.”
Kavanagh met the Italian when they were both working for Murphy in Newmarket and the bond between them was instant. “Stefano had just arrived from Marco Botti’s and we got on well from the very start. One day he said that he didn’t have time for a lot of people but he liked me and thought I’d do well. He even said he thought I’d be better than him!
“Stefano taught me a lot so you can imagine what it was like when he died after that horrendous fall. It was a hell of a blow, not just to me but everyone at Amy’s and all his many friends in Newmarket. We were heartbroken.”
With Murphy’s support, Kavanagh benefitted from the experience of around 60 rides including two winners in the space of 18 months and won the Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff David Nicholson Newcomer Award in February 2023.
“Amy and her husband Lemos were so good to me but felt it was time for me to move on to a bigger yard that year. She felt she had taken me as far as she could and was planning to go out to France to train – and that’s when my move to Ian Williams came about,” he explains.
“My agent at the time, James Forrest, told me Ian was looking for a new apprentice. I finished second on one of his at Kempton and then went to his yard in Alvechurch the week after and never looked back. I left Amy’s with two winners and have now reached 50 - all in the space of about 18 months.”
By sheer co-incidence, Kavanagh had long-standing links with Williams. His father rode for him as a conditional and his mother Claire was stable secretary in the trainer’s formative years. “That family connection was nice to know but as dad said, Ian wouldn’t have taken me on if I wasn’t worthy of a chance.”
Kavanagh’s breakthrough horse was the Williams-trained Tonal, who won four times for the young rider between October 2025 and January. “He always had plenty of ability but wasn’t showing it on the track and Ian was considering retiring him, but I struck up a great relationship with him.”
After helping Williams to second place in the trainers’ table this winter, the 5lb claimer reached the 50 winners mark on the David Evans-trained Supreme King at Kempton on 18th February and now appears to have the All-Weather Championship firmly in his grasp.
“I didn’t have the title in mind at the start of the winter. In fact, I had much smaller goals, but it’s proving to be a great springboard for the year ahead,” he says. “So many apprentices were going away but I was happy to stick around and keep kicking and it’s paid off.
“The boss has put a lot of belief in me and has been such a great support so it’s nice to repay him and our fantastic owners. It’s a great feeling when owners trust you on their horses. You can really sell yourself as a jockey when you have that kind of support,” he adds. “I’m also getting a lot of outside rides, thanks largely to my agent Jack Hind, who is doing a great job for me.
“It’s also a massive benefit to work with my jockey coach George Baker and to be able to talk about races with the senior jockeys in the weighing room. I’ve always looked up to William Buick, Tom Marquand and Hollie Doyle who have been a great help in watching races back with me and telling me what I could have done better.”
Should Kavanagh secure the apprentice title come Good Friday it will crown an inspiring journey of personal achievement that will be dedicated to two of the most special people in his life. It goes without saying that both Niall and Stefano will be looking down on him with the broadest of smiles.
