Denis Tierney was one of the most talented jockeys to come out of British Columbia, and he might still be riding at favoured places such as Santa Anita if the so-called Luck of the Irish had not forsaken him along the way.

A plague of injuries forced him to retire in 1978 after a brilliant but too brief career.

When R.W. (Bob) Hall of George Royal fame visited Ireland in 1964 he made the acquaintance of young Tierney who was apprenticing under trainer Mickey Rogers at The Curragh. Tirney began his career in 1965, riding mainly for his contract holder, Ken (Sonny) O’Connell, another Irish expatriate.

By the following season, Tierney’s deft hands had him contending for the Exhibition Park riding lead against veteran Frank Inda. After losing time with the first of his injuries he settled for second place.

By 1969 he had established himself in California and was the leading rider at Golden Gate in the spring and the third in the fall meeting at Bay Meadows.

Then, he recalls, “I went to Santa Anita as a journeyman. Most riders go when they have the apprentice allowance but I did it ass backwards.”

His first victory in a $100,000 race was aboard Fast Fellow in the 1970 Hollywood Juvenile. As he pulled up he remembers Bill Shoemaker yelling: “Welcome to the club.” He meant the 100 grand club.

Amoung other notable victories were the California Breeders’ Champion Stakes at Bay Meadows and the San Miguel at Santa Anita, both aboard Money Lender, and the Del Mar Debutante on Generous Portion.

Generous Portion was owned and trained by E.B. (Pie Man) Johnston, who formed a profitable relationship with Tierney over the years. “I would get injured but two weeks after I was back I would be riding his Old English Rancho horses,” says Tierney. “It wouldn’t matter if (Laffit) Pincay or (Alvaro) Pineda had been riding for him.”

He was injured a lot. He was out for one year and for seven months on another occasion following back operations. The time he remembers is when he broke his hand at Santa Anita.

It was St. Patrick’s Day and his helmet was festooned with Shamrocks. He had finished fourth aboard Fleet’s Deal in a stakes in Northern California for Johnson. Now he was back in a maiden allowance at Santa Anita and Tierney remembers, “I bet him pretty good and I hardly ever bet. He was 12 to 1 and he falls on his face leaving the gate. Tell me about the luck of the Irish.”
He returned to Vancouver in 1978 well after the Exhibition Park season was underway and quickly moved into second place behind Ken Skinner. Once more a horse went down with him leaving the gate and he cracked his back again. He was in the hospital 13 days and decided he had suffered enough.

After attempts to free himself from the racetrack scene, Tierney concluded he was fighting a losing battle. “I realized the track was my life,” he says about a decision to devote himself to training horses four years ago.

His major development so far has been 1989 Stepping Stone hero Rattenbury’s Bank. In the past three years his horses – Dusty Mac, Mightofbeenthegin, and Imposed Exile – were stakes-placed.