Liv O'Donnell completing a tall order in the saddle

By Jordan Gerrans

Apprentice rider Liv O'Donnell is optimistic her career-best haul of winners at Callaghan Park in Central Queensland on Saturday afternoon is the springboard she needs in her riding career.

Standing at 172cms, O'Donnell is one of the taller female jockeys in Australia and has to work feverishly to keep her weight down.

After a number of injury and weight setbacks since her debut back in the 2021-22 campaign, O'Donnell is putting together the finest season of her young riding career.

The four victories she collected at Rockhampton on Saturday pushed her to 31 winners for the term, as she is going at almost a 17% winning strike-rate.

The hoop was not far from turning her four winners into a full handful of five but she was happy to walk away with the quartet of triumphs at the end of the program.

With regular ‘Rocky’ pilots Justin Stanley and Ryan Wiggins riding at the feature Jewel meeting at the Gold Coast, the Toowoomba-based apprentice was handed a plum book of engagements.

“The more you ride, the better you get,” O'Donnell said.

“The more consistency and confidence comes with that, as well.

“You ride with more confidence and being on the better horses, that makes you ride better also. It was my time to shine with the seniors away and hopefully from that, I can get more opportunities.

“I just need to ride week-in, week-out and build that confidence and consistency. It is the best I have ever rode but I still have a lot to learn.”

The majority of O'Donnell’s rides were favoured in the market with Kai Mondo for trainer Tom Bourke the last of her four winners saluting by almost eight lengths as the $1.35 favourite.

Moment Of Truth for conditioner Kerrod Smyth was the one that got away for the up-and-coming hoop, finishing second aboard the mare who started as a hot favourite in the Benchmark 58 Handicap over a mile.

O'Donnell grew up in the small Queensland town of Theodore before relocating to Rockhampton for boarding school and regards Callaghan Park as her ‘home track’.

“I have been going up a bit and I have not had a heap of opportunities but I always seem to ride a winner,” she said.

“It was a very good weekend to go to Rocky instead of Toowoomba with a lot of the senior riders who usually go to Rocky, they were riding at the Gold Coast.

“I got offered a very good book of rides and I was super confident but I always try and go into my rides not overly confident.

“I do not like putting too much pressure on myself so I just took it like every other day at the races. I thought I could nearly have five winners but I missed out as Kerrod’s horse did not win, as the horse is probably just looking for a bit further.”

In O'Donnell’s first three seasons combined as an apprentice, she took a touch over 200 race day engagements.

In the 2024-25 campaign alone, she has 187 to her name and many more to come before the calendar ticks over to next season.

After a number of injury setbacks, she feels she is starting to get some momentum in her riding.

O'Donnell is indentured to Stephen Kirkwood on the Darling Downs.

“I am getting more opportunities now after my weight struggles and injuries in the past,” the young hoop said.

“This is definitely my best season and I am starting to get seen a little bit more.

“Trainers start to notice you now when you work hard and ride as many winners as I did on that day, I have got their attention now.

“Hopefully I can keep working hard and get more opportunities.”

O'Donnell has her riding weight listed as 55kg and says she is keen to get down lower in the future as she chases metropolitan opportunities down the line.

As a tall rider, she says she has to follow a strict diet as well as doing plenty of running as she is inspired by fellow tall hoops such as James Orman, among others.