Steve O’Halloran’s Irish accent was more lilting than ever as he responded to our phone call on Sunday morning. The Hawkesbury trainer was still trying to descend from cloud nine following Mal Coupe’s gutsy win at Rosehill Gardens. It was three on the trot and four from his last five starts for the promising gelding, and a maiden metropolitan Saturday win for his Dublin born trainer. The special moment came just three years after Steve had been left contemplating his future when unforeseen circumstances terminated his previous training involvement.
Mal Coupe had shown glimpses of ability at his first four starts last spring, but was clearly immature and certain to improve with time. That improvement has been monumental. A close second at Canberra was followed by a demolition job on fellow maidens at Bathurst (Heavy 8) two weeks later. Then came a good second to Hawker Hall in a Cl 1 at Gosford (Soft 7) on June 12th and the gelding hasn’t been beaten in three runs since - a BM68 at Hawkesbury (Soft 7), a BM64 at Canterbury (Soft 7) with the hat trick coming up in Saturday’s 1100m BM78 (Heavy 8) at Rosehill.
Mal Coupe (Winona Costin) gets the middle leg of his hat trick - a BM64 at Canterbury 23/07/2025 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Talented Winona Costin has ridden Mal Coupe in all six runs of his current campaign. “Six runs in a preparation is probably enough but you’ve got no idea how well he came out of Saturday’s race,” said Steve. “He cleaned up every flake on Saturday night and was as bright as a button on Sunday morning. We’ll monitor him closely over the next week before we make a decision on his immediate future.”
Winona rode the horse very positively on Saturday and had no hesitation in parking him outside the leader Ravenclaw. Zac Lloyd was happy to race outside the two leaders on Roselyn’s Star while Mogul Monarch and Catch The Glory settled down in prominent spots. McDonald on favourite Polyglot couldn’t get in and had to resign himself to a wide run. Mal Coupe headed Ravenclaw at the 200m but was immediately under siege. “He was definitely headed by Catch The Glory on his inside and Roselyn’s Star on his outside,” said Steve. “With Polyglot winding up down the outside, I thought the best we could hope for was a nice third or fourth. He really dug deep the last 100m and worried them out of it. He’s a terrific trier.”
Winona Costin was all business at the finish of Saturday's BM78. She got Mal Coupe home narrowly over Polyglot - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The Mal Coupe story is the kind that continues to draw people to the racing game. The gelding was bred and reared by owners Gary and Kay Stevenson on their Orange property in central western NSW. He’s by Xtravagant a dual Gr 1 winner in NZ for the Te Akau operation, and his dam Enter is an unraced daughter of Pierro. Mal Coupe’s trademark tenacity was evident as far back as weanling days when he opted to take on a fence one day on the Stevenson farm and came off second best. At first glance the vets were deeply concerned, with euthanasia mentioned more than once. Finally, they opted to put him back together as best they could, and hope for the best. Steve O’Halloran takes up the story.
“He has a pretty ordinary looking scar all the way from his knee to the fetlock joint down the front of his off foreleg,” said the trainer. “It must have been a hair’s breadth from total disaster when it first happened. The scar detracts from otherwise outstanding looks. He’s a good looking horse in every way with a motor to match. Full marks to Gary and Kay for making a difficult call immediately after the accident. They had to back their judgement regarding the likelihood of a good recovery and got it right. You can imagine what a kick his recent wins have given them.”
Gary and Kay Stevenson (left) had a good grip on the winner's sash after Mal Coupe's Rosehill win - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
When the time came to name their Xtravagant colt, Gary and Kay decided to commemorate his history by using the French words for “bad cut”. The noun “coupe” in modern times is perhaps best known as the name of a two door car with a fixed roof. In earlier times it was used to describe a four wheeled horse drawn carriage for two passengers. The French have also long used it as a noun for cut or slice. Somehow “Mal Coupe” suits this genuine Sydney racehorse.
The Steve O’Halloran story is one that will likely inspire many young European horsemen. None of the O’Halloran family had ever been involved in the racing game in a practical sense, but Steve’s dad enjoyed a little “flutter” on weekends and was a regular TV race watcher. Steve often joined him and soon developed a fascination for the colour and excitement of Irish racing. A sudden aspiration to become a jockey prompted him to enrol with the Racing Academy And Centre Of Education (RACE) in County Kildare. As much as he loved the experience, Steve was forced to abandon the project when his weight quickly got out of hand. He had however honed his riding skills and developed a great passion for thoroughbreds. A new dream emerged - the possibility of a trip to Australia and the likelihood of gaining employment as a trackwork rider.
Steve O'Halloran hoped to get a start in Sydney racing when he arrived in 2003. His journey so far has been an exciting one. Here he is with Winona Costin after Saturday's win - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The young Dubliner arrived in Sydney in 2003 and was thrilled to land a job with the burgeoning Gai Waterhouse stable where he rapidly established himself as one of the stable’s most proficient work riders. His riding skills and a strong work ethic saw Steve spend an amazing seventeen years with the premier stable. For part of that time he combined trackwork with a supervisory role at Tempest Morn Lodge, one of Gai’s smaller Randwick barns. To this day he cherishes memories of riding many high profile horses in their work - Grand Armee, Dance Hero, Northern Meteor, Sebring, Theseo, Desert War, Vancouver, Manhattan Rain, More Joyous, and Pierro head a star studded list. Listening to Steve reminiscing about his elite trackwork mounts, you get the distinct impression More Joyous was his outright favourite. This remarkable daughter of More Than Ready won twenty one races including eight Gr 1’s. That figure would have reached double digits had her two Canterbury Stakes wins been classified as Gr 1’s at the time.
Steve was at the point of seeking a change of direction in 2020 when businessman Paul Fudge offered him the role of private trainer at his newly established Bong Bong Farm on the NSW southern highlands. Paul had extensively expanded his racing interests under the Waratah Thoroughbreds banner at one of Australia’s most elite training properties and was looking for the right man to run the operation. Steve happily accepted and threw himself into the new challenge. He produced ten winners for Waratah Thoroughbreds over the following twelve months including Prince of Arragon whose Warwick Farm win in September 2020 gave the trainer his first taste of metropolitan success.
Prince Of Arragon (Tim Clark) gives Steve his first metro win - Warwick Farm September 2020 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Steve was deeply saddened in 2021 when Paul Fudge was diagnosed with a serious illness and advised by his Doctors to reduce commercial pressures. The high profile businessman was forced to abandon his dream of establishing one of Australia’s most successful home grown racing operations. The spectacular farm is now a prized component of the Racing NSW property portfolio, and an important part of Ciaron Maher’s national training network.
It was with some trepidation that Steve elected to train in his own right rather than seek employment with a prominent Sydney stable. He was able to secure the use of ten boxes at Hawkesbury and got the business underway by pre-training horses for old friends like Mark Newnham, Michael Freedman and John O’Shea. The odd outside horse started to trickle into the stable, and the odd winner ultimately popped up. Today Steve O’Halloran is training a team of twenty horses from a larger Hawkesbury barn with several new clients on board.
You wouldn’t expect an Irishman to meet his Scottish born wife in Australia but that’s exactly the way it happened for the O’Hallorans. Stephanie plays a major role in the administration of the business and doubles as a very talented work rider for her husband six days a week. Steve and Stephanie are the proud parents of Riley (16), Kegan (14) and 9 year old daughter Willow. Stephanie assumed strapping duties at Rosehill on Saturday and was seen shedding a few quiet tears as Mal Coupe returned to the winner’s circle.
Steve and Stephanie O'Halloran minutes after Mal Coupe had given them a Saturday metro win at Rosehill - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Steve could get away without riding trackwork nowadays but chooses to be a part of the team, especially when problem horses are involved. “I still enjoy riding work and the challenge of sorting out any bad habits that might creep into the system,” he said. “I can’t imagine a morning at the track without putting something through its paces. It’s not a chore. It’s a lifestyle.”
There’s a long held belief that the Irish are among the finest horse people in the world. In a country where more than sixty percent of the land area is set aside for agriculture, it’s no wonder there’s a cultural connection to horse breeding. The Emerald Isle has produced many iconic trainers and jockeys while an endless list of champion racehorses have been bred and reared on its fertile pastures.
Steve O’Halloran’s love of racing was innocently aroused as he watched the action on live television in childhood days, but the Irish way was merely waiting to be awoken. He’s now putting that heritage to good use on the other side of the world, and he’s only just getting started.
(Banner image - Mal Coupe makes it four from his last five in winning Saturday's BM78 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)