Neil Callan was born on 6 July, 1978, in County Kildare and initially rode in Ireland for Willie Fitzpatrick and Kevin Prendergast.
After a luckless spell in his native country, he considered giving up riding to work as a kitchen fitter before time as a work rider for Karl Burke in Yorkshire changed his mind.
It was Burke who suggested to Callan that he should take out a licence again and on 4 May, 1998, he rode a winner at Warwick on his first ride in this country. Callan didn’t look back after that and was crowned champion apprentice in 1999.
He was subsequently appointed stable jockey to Kevin Ryan in Yorkshire and enjoyed Group One successes for the trainer on Amadeus Wolf (2005 Middle Park Stakes) and Palace Episode (2005 Racing Post Troph y).
Ryan also provided Callan with a first Royal Ascot winner when Uhoomagoo was successful in the 2006 Buckingham Palace Stakes while he partnered the Michael Jarvis-trained Fashion Statement to success in the 2007 Italian Oaks.
Callan has registered over 100 winners in each of the past five seasons, recording his best ever tally of 151 winners in 2005.
2009: Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup debut
Quick Guide to the annual Shergar Cup
