Jockey Robbie Dolan is a man of many talents. The Irishman, appearing in the Shergar Cup at Ascot Racecourse, looks back on his time on The Voice Australia with mentor Rita Ora…
Robbie didn’t want to be seen as a bad singer
Robbie Dolan could be performing on either of Ascot’s main stages. But the multi-talented Irishman will leave the after-party entertainment to Perrie Edwards and Marvin Humes, while he sets out to prove he has the X Factor in the saddle as one of the stars of the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup.
Like the former Little Mix and JLS stars, Dolan was the breakout hit of a TV talent show. He sang his way into the stable of Rita Ora, who became his mentor after he turned three chairs at the blind audition on The Voice Australia in 2022.
“You have to be on my team,” said the British star, after hearing Dolan’s version of James Bay’s Let It Go.
Rita Ora wanted Robbie on her team(Image: Seven)
“When I first walked out on that stage I had my eyes closed!” recalls 29-year-old Dolan. “I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew I could sing a bit because people told me.
“I remember watching the X Factor years ago when the judges said they were great singers and they turned out really bad. I didn’t want to be that guy.
“When everyone turned around and they were all delighted, I was just gobsmacked. Rita was great. She was like one of the lads. She was going to have a beer with us but we never got the chance because we filmed the show during the pandemic.”
Robbie is appearing in the Shergar Cup at Ascot Racecourse(Image: Getty Images)
Dolan didn’t realise his dream of becoming a pop idol. Despite advancing through the callbacks, he was eliminated in the quarter finals by eventual winner Lachie Gill.
Instead, he went on to achieve longer lasting fame as a professional jockey. The native of Kildare, Ireland, was born into horse racing. His grandfather was a Classic-winning jockey and both his parents rode.
He had ridden only three winners in Ireland when in 2016 he uprooted himself to try out Australia. “I had no money, I had a school bag on my back, but I wanted to give it a go,” he says.
He was an instant hit, becoming a champion apprentice in Sydney.
“Australia was a big culture shock,” he says. “Everything is different. I was young and needed a change of scenery.
“I was only planning on going over for a year and maybe have a few rides as an apprentice and look I’ve been there for nine years. It’s obviously touched me in a certain way. The culture and lifestyle in Australia is very hard to beat.”
Robbie switched singing for racing(Image: Getty Images)
Last November he picked up the mount on an apparent no-hoper in the Melbourne Cup, one of the world’s biggest horse races. Knight’s Choice’s odds were 90-1 yet Dolan produced the horse from the tail of the field to snatch victory by a short head.
Within 24 hours he was back on stage, duetting with Ronan Keating at a casino in the centre of Melbourne.
“It was a big ladies lunch,” he says. “There were 500 screaming women and me and Ronan up on stage. It was a bit of a craic.”
He recognises his good fortune. “I never thought I would get the opportunity to ride in the Melbourne Cup so to win it on my first ride in the race was pretty special,” he says. “It has made me want to get that feeling again.
“But for that I wouldn’t have received the invitation to ride in the Shergar Cup. I watched the event as a kid so it’s very special to be here.”
Robbie was on The Voice Australia in 2022(Image: Getty Images for ATC)
Dolan still takes bookings as a singer, but his number one vocation is that of a professional jockey. Today he will join Britain’s Hollie Doyle and Joanna Mason on the Great Britain & Ireland team in the novel jockey competition.
He says: “The singing is something I had been hiding behind the scenes since I was a kid. I really enjoy it. It’s cool to juggle the ball because they fit in pretty well together.
“I do a bit on the side when I can but racing is full-on so they clash a fair bit. I’ve had to turn down gigs because I am riding, but sometimes I might ride at a meeting and perform afterwards in a VIP area.
“Racing is an entertainment business at the end of the day and the two can go hand in hand because you get a lot of drunken people on course, having a bet, listening to music and enjoying themselves and that’s what it’s all about.”