![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/i-was-a-top-jockey-who-made-close-to-1m-and-had-a-bust-up-with-joey-barton-after-a-ride-now-im-a-non-league-manager/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Arsenal-news-43.jpg&description=SADDLE SOAR I was a top jockey who made close to £1m and had a bust-up with Joey Barton after a ride – now I'm a non-league manager A FORMER jockey who made close to £1million with nearly 500 winners switched riding out for the dugout after becoming a football manager. Mick O'Connell was a promising footballer in his youth and was on the books at Nottingham Forest and Celtic. 1 Mick O'Connell was successful in the saddle and enjoying his best season when a back injury ended his career - now he's a non-league football manager Credit: Alamy But he was too small to make it and a coach at the Scottish giants suggested he try racing. Mick had never been on a horse but was a natural, quickly becoming a go-to jockey for trainers. He travelled the world banging in winners - but it wasn't all smooth sailing. A bust-up with Joey Barton in Dubai and a threat from gangsters to shoot him all contributed to a truly wild few years in racing. The relative calm of football and managing non-league Tadcaster Albion must seem a breeze in comparison. But it might not have come about were it not for a devastating injury Mick suffered in 2013. That forced him to give up the game mid-way through his best season. Still, Mick, who is from County Kildare in Ireland, has a load of crazy stories from his day in the saddle. Recalling one with renowned hot head Barton, Mick told nonleagueyorkshire.com: "I rode a horse for Joey Barton in Dubai and believe it or not I fell out with him night. "To be fair he was all right, but we were out in the owners bar and his racing manager piped up and said something. "As you do after you've had a few beers, I told him how it is. "I never heard from them again!" That wasn't the only time Mick's former career crept up on him, with the jockey riding horses belonging to Sir Alex Ferguson too. He added: "Paul Scholes. Michael Owen. They all owned horses when I was riding. "Fergie is an absolute gentleman and he lives and breathes for horse racing. I've also met Ha){kind=link}
A FORMER jockey who made close to £1million with nearly 500 winners switched riding out for the dugout after becoming a football manager.
Mick O’Connell was a promising footballer in his youth and was on the books at Nottingham Forest and Celtic.
But he was too small to make it and a coach at the Scottish giants suggested he try racing.
Mick had never been on a horse but was a natural, quickly becoming a go-to jockey for trainers.
He travelled the world banging in winners – but it wasn’t all smooth sailing.