At just 24 years of age Deva Racing chief Ryan Tongue has packed quite a lot into his CV. Ambitious, well-connected and forward thinking, he is unquestionably one of the rising stars of the racing punditry world. Born and raised in Worcester, Ryan’s interest in racing was sparked in primary school. He began riding lessons at the age of seven and soon the story of a famous locally-owned horse caught his attention. The horse in question was triple Gold Cup hero Best Mate, and his owner Jim Lewis got wind of Ryan’s burgeoning enthusiasm for his famous charge.

Before long Ryan was visiting Hen Knight and Terry Biddlecombe’s famous Wantage stables and becoming acquainted with the only horse since Arkle to capture steeplechasing’s Blue Riband on three occasions. Such was Ryan’s association with the horse that he even attended the memorial service at Cheltenham racecourse when Best Mate’s ashes were laid by the winning post. Jim Lewis took Ryan under his wing and several more stable visits would follow, including to other trainers such as Paul Nicholls, allowing Ryan to develop an extensive list of contacts that continues to build to this day.

Determined to pursue a career in the industry, after leaving school Ryan successfully graduated from the British Racing School in Newmarket and spent three years working for trainer Oliver Greenall in Malpas, Cheshire.

During this period Ryan rode in point-to-points around the country, forging yet more connections and deepening his knowledge of every aspect of the sport. He also spent two years working in the weighing room at his local track, Worcester, where he would look after the jockeys, including greats such as A P McCoy and Ruby Walsh. All the while he was cultivating the skills needed to excel as a racing pundit/host. He spent time behind the scenes with Channel 4 Racing in 2015 and, since the age of 19, has worked alongside jump jockey Dave Crosse, hosting hospitality events at some of the most prestigious venues in the country.

Both Dave and Ryan are passionate champions of charity, and they have worked tirelessly to raise funds for a diverse range of charities such as Middleham Air Ambulance, Primrose Hospice and Macmillan Cancer Research.

In 2018 Ryan took on the role of Racing Manager to highly successful NH owners Grech and Parkin, overseeing their string of 45 horses which included high-class performers such as River Wylde, Claimantakinforgan and Mr Whipped. Around this time Ryan was put forward by trainer Donald McCain to take on the management and running of Deva Racing, as former director Mike Foster was retiring.

Since taking the reins at Deva Racing Ryan has been able to put his extensive industry experience to good use, allowing him to expand and broaden the horizons of the syndicate. Under Ryan’s leadership the Deva string has increased from five to 21 horses, exciting new trainers have been added to the roster, and a large influx of new syndicate members has been encouraged to join. Ryan, who continues to ride out regularly, is now expanding Deva Racing into new frontiers, with horses in training in Ireland and France. Furthermore, the recent link ups with the likes of Matt Chapman, Ed Glassonbury, and sponsored jockey Cillin Leonard, demonstrate Ryan’s desire to continue developing the brand. With so much achieved already and so much more to look forward to, there is little doubt that the future looks very bright for Deva Racing and its ambitious young leader.

My path to a career in the saddle seemed very unlikely when growing up in Beaumont, on the Northside of Dublin city. My father was an aircraft mechanic in Dublin Airport and my mother was Principal of a Special School in Beaumont. I always loved horses from an early age being exposed to them on my school holidays on my grandparents farm in County Laois. They always kept ponies and horses. My mother grew up enjoying many competitive wins in the pony show-jumping scene. My uncle continued the equine tradition breeding racehorses and enjoying show-jumping with his children. I loved riding the ponies out with my cousins whenever I could and particularly riding bare-back and making our own cross-country courses.

I was lucky enough to get a place in RACE in Kildare when I was 16 and from here I started with Ken Condon on the Curragh. Ken has a great eye for race horses and an excellent work ethic. This was definitely my grounding. I went from Ken’s to Willie Mullins yard in Carlow where I was privileged to ride alongside the best in the industry, Ruby Walsh, Paul Townsend, Patrick, David and Danny Mullins. I really learnt a lot here purely from watching and listening to the best. Then I took out my licence with Pat A Fahey where I had my first winner on ‘Supreme Steel’, in Thurles March 2017 followed by two more wins on ‘No Pressure Pat’.

Things got a little quite in Ireland for me and my agent at the time put me in contact with Olly Murphy in Stratford Upon Avon, where I got my first win in the UK. I was really made welcome in the yard and made great friends in the industry. Opportunities in a big yard are hard to come by, especially where there are a number of jockeys but again my UK agent saw an opening to join Dr Richard Newland’s yard in Elmbridge, Worster. This, without a doubt, has probably been my best move to-date. Dr. Newland wasn’t shy in giving me rides, I guess he saw something in me and I’m very grateful to him for this. I got off to a great start with just my first ride in Cheltenham and my second ride for Dr. Newland. I won the the opening race in Cheltenham’s October Festival 2019 on ‘Duke Street’, giving me an amazing win. This was followed by three wins in Ascot first on’ Mason Jar’ and then two wins on ‘Coillte Eile’ . I love the yard and get on great with everyone. We are also very lucky with the owners we have attached to the yard and I’m also very grateful to my sponsors Devaracing.

Of course, Covid 19 has stopped us all in our tracks but we’re all safe and back in the game again. Here’s looking forward to lots of rides and wins in the season ahead.