‘I’m just so proud of him’: Mother Sonia Donnelly delighted to celebrate son Ethan Brown’s Group 1 success on Mornington Glory

Sonia Donnelly, mother of Group 1 jockey Ethan Brown, picked the right weekend to visit her son in Melbourne.

Ethan Brown celebrates the Moir Stakes victory with mother Sonia Donnelly and partner Celine Gaudray. Picture: Scott Barbour/Racing Photos via Getty Images

Sonia Donnelly, proud mother of Group 1 jockey Ethan Brown, picked the right weekend to visit her son in Melbourne.

Brown last Saturday was rewarded for 18 months’ hard work, resilience and determination inside 58 seconds at The Valley with victory in the Group 1 Moir Stakes (1000m) aboard Mornington Glory.

🎶 What’s the story, Morning[ton] Glory? 🎶pic.twitter.com/qxbIbgsNHh

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) September 7, 2024

“I don’t get here as often as I’d like to,” Gold Coast-based Donnelly said.

“It was just a visit, I was missing him and I thought I’d come down and do a trip and see him and Celine (Gaudray), this is the cherry on top.

“His first three I wasn’t there for, watched them on the telly, this is his first (Group 1) I’ve watched live.”

Brown fought for life in March last year when suffering serious internal injuries in an race fall at Flemington.

Donnelly received the call no mother wants, told to rush to Melbourne to be with her son, in a critical condition in hospital.

Brown, in an induced coma, had multiple rounds of life saving surgery on a lacerate liver, kidney issues, extensive internal bleeding.

He also suffered three hairline fractured vertebrae, serious but secondary to the abdominal carnage.

The mental toll, for Brown and those closest to him, Donnelly and his partner Celine Gaudray, was just as significant as the physical injuries.

Brown worked hard to make a comeback last year, before the mature decision to step back from racing, heal and rediscover the passion.

He returned in January but targeted the winter to build a bank of winners and momentum for the Spring Racing Carnival, which has culminated in Listed and Group 1 victories aboard Mornington Glory.

“Do you wanna pat my champion?” 🥹

Karen Flaherty is a big part of the Mornington Glory team, a special win in the Group 1 Moir Stakes 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Jdov3tkdpz

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) September 7, 2024

Donnelly and Gaudray rushed to the winner’s stall at The Valley last Saturday to celebrate with Brown.

“They (jockeys) work so hard behind the scenes,” an emotional Donnelly said.

“They really deserve these big wins.

“He’s had a hard couple of years, come back from his fall … it’s been a bit rough.

“I’m just so proud of him, his resilience, so determined and focused, he’s a really good kid.”

Brown, a four-time Group 1 winner, will attempt to add another stakes’ success on Saturday at Flemington aboard Manolo Bling in the Listed Cap D’Antibes Stakes (1100m).

Originally published as ‘I’m just so proud of him’: Mother Sonia Donnelly delighted to celebrate son Ethan Brown’s Group 1 success on Mornington Glory