Pioneer Pam O’Neill proud to have paved the way for female jockeys

Trailblazing jockey Pam O’Neill could never have imagined the tidal wave of talented female jockeys that would follow in her footsteps but she says it is about time they got the credit they deserved ahead of the race named in her honour at Doomben on Saturday.

As Rachel King prepares to take the ride on Stradbroke favourite Ayrton next month, O’Neill is in awe of the likes of Jamie Kah, Stephanie Thornton and Linda Meech who continue to build to go from strength to strength in the once male-dominated industry.

O’Neill famously crashed through the glass ceiling in 1979 when she rode a treble on her first day as a professional jockey after years of lobbying to allow female jockeys before backing it up with three more winners seven days later.

Female jockey trailblazer Pam O’Neill reflects on her career and a new Brisbane winter carnival race named in her honour. Courtesy: Racing Queensland…

Female jockey trailblazer Pam O’Neill reflects on her career and a new Brisbane winter carnival race named in her honour. Courtesy: Racing Queensland

Now she takes great enjoyment from watching those following in her footsteps.

“It’s great to see the girls with what they are doing” she said.

“It shows they can compete and that we can do it, it just shows how long they took to change the rules – there were a lot of male chauvinists around at the time.

“Somebody said to me ‘do you realise what you started’ but at the time I didn’t care about all that stuff. I just wanted to break the rules and ride, that is all it was about so it is great the way it has followed.

“You have got to say Jamie Kah is the standout but my favourite one used to be Linda Meech but now you have Stephanie Thornton who is doing a great job up here and Rachel King who could be on the Stradbroke favourite – wouldn’t that be something.”

Pam O’Neill walks the Doomben track with apprentice Wendy Peel. Picture: Tara CroserSource:News Corp Australia

O’Neill has thrown her weight behind TAB’s Not One Day campaign which focuses on highlighting the achievements of female jockeys all year around.

Formerly the Princess Stakes, the Listed Pam O’Neill stakes has been a labour of love for Racing Queensland and the Brisbane Racing Club who have aspirations to upgrade it from its Group 3 level in the future.

After kicking off in 2020, Saturday marks the first time O’Neill will be trackside to watch the race after COVID-19 stopped any hope of that last year.

“They said they couldn’t believe there wasn’t a race named after me and I said maybe it’s because I speak my mind,” she said.

“I feel very honoured and humbled about it, especially because I am still living and here. It was a real fight, I can tell you that.

“I’ll never forget one day I went into the barriers at Eagle Farm and (a male jockey) was there and went into my barrier.

“I said ‘get out of my barrier’ and he said ‘women should be in the kitchen’ so I replied ‘I can do that, and I can do your job too.”

Originally published asO’Neill proud to have paved way for female jockeys

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