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It has been, according to the man himself, a "mighty week" for 21-year-old Alix Balfe from Kells.
"Winners are currency," he said. "It was great to get those two in the last week and winners are what keeps your name out there. I'm loving life at the minute and my main goal at the moment is lose my claim. That's the aim so let's see how it goes."
Monday, 20 October 2025
It has been, according to the man himself, a "mighty week" for 21-year-old Alix Balfe from Kells.
In the space of four days he doubled the number of winners in his whole career thanks to a horse called Rock Ya Boy Ya, who is trained in Stamullen by Francis Casey.
Rock Ya Boy Ya rocked up to Killarney last Sunday week as a 14-1 outsider for a handicap hurdle but he belied those odds with an emphatic success under a polished ride from Balfe. Four days later the pair teamed up again, this time at Tramore, and repeated the dose in similarly decisive style, this time justifying 7-4 favouritism by five and a half lengths.
Now Balfe has four winners to his name and he's gunning for more.
"Winners are currency," he said. "It was great to get those two in the last week and winners are what keeps your name out there. I'm loving life at the minute and my main goal at the moment is lose my claim. That's the aim so let's see how it goes." Another on the list of goals, is to ride a winner at Navan, “it’s my local racecourse, I’ve had a few rides there now and it’s one of the best tracks in the country.”
When asked for his idol growing up, Balfe replied: "Definitely Davy Russell. He had such good hands on a horse. His hands never moved, I loved that about him. He was different class on a horse."
Balfe is based five mornings a week with Gavin Cromwell, “the quality of horses he has at the minute are unreal. It's brilliant to be in there with him, riding good horses and I'm learning all the time.”
One who has been catching Balfe's eye on Cromwell's gallops is Bud Fox. He said: " He won his bumper well and I like the look of him. I have a feeling he's a very nice horse and it will be interesting to see how he gets on over hurdles. He could be top class."
In addition to his five mornings with Cromwell, he just recently began going into Dermot McLoughlin’s a day a week and he rides out for Slane trainer Pat Downey every afternoon. “I’ve been based in Pat’s in the afternoons now for a few years, he has a great set up, is great for advice and has given me plenty of opportunities.” Another man Balfe is quick to mention is his agent Gary Cribbin who he praises as “doing a great job for me”.
Balfe celebrated his first success in a handicap hurdle at Cork in April of last year when steering Macinamillion to a narrow success and he traces his love of horses back to his childhood.
He said: "I've always loved horses and been around them. My grandad, Brendan Campbell, had a few point-to-pointers with Gerry Keane and it all started from there really."
Balfe has blossomed over the last few weeks. Expect the winners to keep rolling.
In the space of four days he doubled the number of winners in his whole career thanks to a horse called Rock Ya Boy Ya, who is trained in Stamullen by Francis Casey.
Rock Ya Boy Ya rocked up to Killarney last Sunday week as a 14-1 outsider for a handicap hurdle but he belied those odds with an emphatic success under a polished ride from Balfe. Four days later the pair teamed up again, this time at Tramore, and repeated the dose in similarly decisive style, this time justifying 7-4 favouritism by five and a half lengths.
Now Balfe has four winners to his name and he's gunning for more.
"Winners are currency," he said. "It was great to get those two in the last week and winners are what keeps your name out there. I'm loving life at the minute and my main goal at the moment is lose my claim. That's the aim so let's see how it goes." Another on the list of goals, is to ride a winner at Navan, “it’s my local racecourse, I’ve had a few rides there now and it’s one of the best tracks in the country.”
When asked for his idol growing up, Balfe replied: "Definitely Davy Russell. He had such good hands on a horse. His hands never moved, I loved that about him. He was different class on a horse."
Balfe is based five mornings a week with Gavin Cromwell, “the quality of horses he has at the minute are unreal. It's brilliant to be in there with him, riding good horses and I'm learning all the time.”
One who has been catching Balfe's eye on Cromwell's gallops is Bud Fox. He said: " He won his bumper well and I like the look of him. I have a feeling he's a very nice horse and it will be interesting to see how he gets on over hurdles. He could be top class."
In addition to his five mornings with Cromwell, he just recently began going into Dermot McLoughlin’s a day a week and he rides out for Slane trainer Pat Downey every afternoon. “I’ve been based in Pat’s in the afternoons now for a few years, he has a great set up, is great for advice and has given me plenty of opportunities.” Another man Balfe is quick to mention is his agent Gary Cribbin who he praises as “doing a great job for me”.
Balfe celebrated his first success in a handicap hurdle at Cork in April of last year when steering Macinamillion to a narrow success and he traces his love of horses back to his childhood.
He said: "I've always loved horses and been around them. My grandad, Brendan Campbell, had a few point-to-pointers with Gerry Keane and it all started from there really."
Balfe has blossomed over the last few weeks. Expect the winners to keep rolling.