Born in Brighton, East Sussex on September 18, 1983, Ryan Moore is the eldest son of trainer Gary Moore who, since 2024 has held a joint-licence with his youngest son, Josh, at Cisswood Racing Stables in Lower Beeding, West Sussex. He rode his first winner, of any description, Mersey Beat, trained by his father, in an amateur riders’ handicap hurdle at Towcester on May 15, 2000 and his first Flat winner, No Extras, in an amateur riders’ handicap at Newmarket on June 3, 2000.
Moore subsequently became apprenticed to Richard Hannon Snr., in East Everleigh, Wiltshire and, in 2003, became champion apprentice, riding out his claim on his way to a career-best 59 winners. He rode over 100 winners in Britain for the first time in 2004 and went on to repeat the feat in 13 of the next 14 seasons, peaking with 194 winners, from 899 rides at a strike rate of 22%, in 2013.
Moore became champion jockey for the first time in 2006, with 180 winners, including his first Group 1 winner, Notnowcato, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, in the Juddmonte International Stakes at York on August 22, 2006. He may well have defended his title in 2007, but for three months on the sidelines with a broken arm. Nevertheless, he chalked up four more Group 1 wins, including an enterprising, solo effort on the stands’ side on Notnowcato in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown, and eventually finished third in the jockeys’ championship behind joint-winners Seb Sanders and Jamie Spencer. As stable jockey to Stoute, Moore was champion jockey again in both 2008 and 2009 and, in 2010, completed the Oaks/Derby double on Snow Fairy, trained by Ed Dunlop, and Workforce, trained by Stoute.
Nowadays first choice jockey for Aidan O’Brien in Ballydoyle, County Tipperary, Moore reached the landmark of 2,000 winners in Britain on Billesdon Brook, trained by Richard Hannon Jnr., in a fillies’ novice stakes race at Kempton on July 5, 2017. At the time of writing, he has 18 British Classic winners to his name, the most recent of which was Minnie Hauk, trained by O’Brien, in the Oaks in 2025.