IT could not have been more appropriate that Ed O’Rourke won four races with a mare called With Purpose.
The Irish expat, who has travelled far and wide in his quest to become a trainer and is now based at Hawkesbury, indeed does everything with purpose.
O’Rourke’s website says it all. The tagline “always with purpose” is a perfect analogy of O’Rourke Racing’s business standard, along with acknowledging the challenges he has faced and the important role those challenges have played in shaping him.
Accompanying the tagline is a celtic oak tree logo, which embodies significant values to the young trainer, symbolising strength and resilience, and family ties.
O’Rourke has certainly shown strength and resilience to achieve his goal, and the family ties centre around both his birthplace and current Australian circumstances.
From County Wexford – about one and a half hours south of Dublin – O’Rourke grew up around horses.
“I’ve been around them as long as I can remember,” he told us.
“I was raised on my parents’ highly regarded Belmont Stud, where horses were bred for both jumps and flat racing.
“Our homebreds had success in Europe, Asia and America.
“It was a mixed farm as we also ran dairy cattle as well.”
Holding firm in his life’s passion to train, O’Rourke took the bit between his teeth and as a 26-year-old came across the other side of the world to Australia.
He came here on a working holiday visa for 12 months – and saw plenty of the country.
“I left our winter back home in 2011 and arrived in the Australian summer,” O’Rourke said.
“I wanted to gain more experience, and my first job was with Gai Waterhouse at Randwick.
“Fellow Irishman Steve O’Halloran (now also training at Hawkesbury) was a foreman there at the time.
“I also worked for Anthony Cummings and the Hayes boys, and then took a different direction, mustering cattle in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and North Queensland.”
O’Rourke concluded a busy first visa period working for another Randwick trainer John Thompson at the then Nathan Tinkler-owned Patinack Farm at Canungra in the Gold Coast hinterland.
“I went home for a period, but was always coming back,” he said.
“Gai (Waterhouse) offered to sponsor me, but as that hadn’t been approved when I returned, I went to South Australia breaking in horses at trainer Tony McEvoy’s farm near Angaston.
“When the sponsorship came through, I went back to Sydney and worked for Gai for a number of years.”
O’Rourke took out his training licence nearing the end of the 2016-17 racing season, and set up shop at Royal Randwick.
“It was tough going, but looking back now really good experience all the same,” he said.
O’Rourke’s debut runner was an I Am Invincible youngster Totally Charmed, who ran seventh at $21 in a 2YO Maiden Plate (1000m) at Gosford on June 1, 2017.
That often elusive breakthrough winner wasn’t too far away.
Takahashi, a three-year-old daughter of Golden Slipper winner Sepoy, took a Muswellbrook Maiden Handicap (1280m) on September 10 that year as a well backed $3.20 joint favorite.
Her rider was Rachel King, then apprenticed to Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott. In a tight finish, Takahashi hung on to beat the other co-favorite Spice Treasure.
During his time at Randwick, he won a 2YO Maiden (1100m) at Rosehill Gardens in February 2018 with the talented ex-Victorian Ringerdingding on debut.
Unfortunately he lost the son of another Golden Slipper winner Sebring back to Victoria after only six starts, and later that year Ringerdingding won the Group 2 Sandown Guineas (1600m).
That’s not forgetting his success with With Purpose either, where the Golden Slipper connection once more was strong.
“Gai and Adrian initially had With Purpose (a daughter of Pierro), and I was fortunate enough to be given her to train before she raced,” O’Rourke said.
“We won four races with her and all were at Goulburn, the latest being the Guy Walter Handicap for fillies and mares at the Cup meeting in November 2018.”
O’Rourke’s travels certainly weren’t over. He took up an offer from Blue Sky Investments and headed north to train at Murwillumbah.
That move led to his most successful season yet, preparing 16 winners in the 2020-21 season in both NSW and Queensland.
But just as they did in Ireland, family ties again came to the fore.
My partner Emmie Barrett (the couple plans to marry next year) fell pregnant with our first child (son George is now two and a half), and was keen to move back home to be closer to her family at Glenbrook in the lower part of the Blue Mountains,” O’Rourke explained.
“Hawkesbury was the obvious track to go to.
“The club has been very accommodating, and the facilities to train are great.
“It’s very competitive with a lot of good trainers here, and from my point of view it’s been a bit slow.
“I would have liked a few more winners (though the talented Iron Man won two in a row for him at Canterbury and Rosehill Gardens in June and July).”
That’s when O’Rourke quickly called on his motto.
“We’ve got a lot of nice young horses, and not many tried horses,” he said.
“You don’t get champions from the latter. You have to buy young ones to have a chance for that.
“And if you keep doing everything with purpose, you can go a long way.”
Story John Curtis, September 10, 2024 - Pics Bradley Photos
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