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Tom Marquand

admin May 29, 2026

Born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire on March 30, 1998, Tom Marquand took the advice of his father-in-law-to-be, Mark Doyle, to become apprenticed to Richard Hannon, rather than Andrew Balding, after leaving school at the age of 16. He rode his first winner, Mecado, trained by Hannon, in a selling stakes race at Kempton on December 17, 2014. Less than a year later, on October 17, 2015, he was crowned champion apprentice, beating his nearest rival, Jack Garrity, 54-52 after riding a winner at Catterick on the final day of the championship season.

Marquand rode 67 winners in 2015 and rode out his claim on Scarlet Dragon, trained by Eve Johnson Houghton, in a handicap at Newbury on June 30, 2016, on his way to 63 winners in his second full season. As a fully-fledged professional, he has been a fixture in the top five of the British Flat Jockeys’ Championship since 2019, finishing fourth that year, third in 2020, third again in 2021, joint-second in 2022, alongside his wife, Hollie Doyle, daughter of Mark, fourth in 2023, third again in 2024 and joint-fourth, alongside Cieren Fallon, in 2025.

Marquand rode his first Group 1 winner, Addeybb, trained by William Haggas, in the Ranvet Stakes at Rosehill in New South Wales, Australia, on March 21, 2020. He has since added 18 more Grade 1 and Group 1 victories to his career tally, notably including Galileo Chrome, trained by Joseph O’Brien, and Scandinavia, trained by Aidan O’Brien, in the St. Leger Stakes at Doncaster in 2020 and 2025, respectively, and Big Evs, trained by Michael Appleby, in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Santa Anita in 2023, to name but three. On September 4, 2023, Marquand reached the landmark of 1,000 career winners in Britain on Five Towns, trained by William Haggas, in a fillies’ handicap at Windsor.

Tony McCoy

admin May 29, 2026

To anyone with even a passing interest in horse racing, Tony McCoy, or Sir Anthony Peter McCoy, to give him his full title, surely requires little or no introduction. McCoy retired on April 25, 2015, having ridden 4,348 National Hunt winners in Britain and Ireland, making him far and away the most prolific jump jockey in history. Indeed, his nearest rival in the all-time list, Richard Johnson, rode 3,819 winners, but did not retire until April 3, 2021.

Born in Moneyglass, County Antrim, Northern Ireland on May 4, 74, McCoy rode his first winner on British soil, Chickabiddy, trained by Gordon Edwards, in a handicap hurdle at Exeter on November 1, 1994. He became champion conditional jockey in 1994/95 with a record 74 winners and champion jockey in his first season as a fully-fledged professional, 1995/96, with 175 winners. McCoy would, in fact, defend his title every year until his retirement, an unbroken stretch of 20 years. Indeed, in 2001/02, en route to his seventh championship, he rode 289 winners, breaking the long-standing record for winners in a single season, under either code, 269, set by Sir Gordon Richards in 1947.

In 1997, McCoy was recruited as stable jockey to eventual 15-time champion trainer Martin Pipe at Pond House Stables in Nicholashayne, Devon as a replacement for the previous incumbent, David Bridgwater who, to the suprise of many, walked away from the job at the start of the 1996/97 season. Over the next seven years, Pipe and McCoy formed a formidable partnership that yielded 1,154 winners and made them perennial champions until 2004, when McCoy was offered a lucrative retainer by John ‘J.P.’ McManus.

At the Cheltenham Festival, McCoy rode a total of 31 winners, winning the Champion Hurdle and the Ryanair Chase three times apiece, the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice and the Queen Mother Champion Chase once. He also famously won the Grand National on Don’t Push It, trained by Jonjo O’Neill, in 2010.

Pat Eddery

admin May 28, 2026

Born on March 18, 1952 in Newbridge, County Kildare, Patrick ‘Pat’ Eddery rode 4,632 winners on British soil, more than any other Flat jockey bar Sir Gordon Richards, who rode 4,870. Originally apprenticed to Seamus McGrath in County Dublin, in 1967 he crossed the Irish Sea to join Herbert ‘Frenchie’ Nicholson in Cheltenham, Gloucester and, after a slow start, rode his first winner on British soil, Alvaro, trained by Michael Pope, at Epsom on April 24, 1969.

Eddery was champion apprentice in 1971 and, the following year, became stable jockey to Peter Walwyn at Seven Barrows, Lambourn, Berkshire, for whom he would win his first two British Classics, the Oaks on Polygamy in 1974 and the Derby with Grundy in 1975. He also won the Flat Jockeys’ Championship four years running between 1974 and 1977. Eddery would become champion jockey seven more times, in 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1996. His most successful season, numerically, came in 1990, when he rode 209 winners, making him the first jockey reach a double-century since the aforementioned Sir Gordon Richards rode 231 winners in 1952.

After eight years with Walwyn, Eddery became stable jockey to the original Master of Ballydoyle, Vincent O’Brien, for whom he won the Derby on Golden Fleece in 1982 and back-to-back renewals on the 2,000 Guineas on Lomond in 1983 and El Grand Senor in 1984, among other high-profile winners. Overseas, he won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe four times, on Detroit (1980), Rainbow Quest (1985), Dancing Brave (1986) and Trempolino (1987). In 1987, Eddery became retained jockey to Khalid Abdullah, the owner of Rainbow Quest and Dancing Brave, an association that would yield two more British Classic winners, Quest For Fame in the Derby in 1990 and Zafonic in the 2,000 Guineas in 1993.

Richard Johnson

admin May 28, 2026

Born in Hereford on July 21, 1977, Richard Johnson rode his first winner under Rules, Rusty Bridge, owned and trained by his parents, Keith and Sue Johnson, in a hunters’ chase at Hereford on April 30, 1994. As conditional jockey to David ‘The Duke’ Nicholson, he won the conditional jockeys’ title in 1995/96 and, as a fully-fledged professional, finished runner-up in the senior jockeys’ championship no fewer than 17 times, 16 times to Tony McCoy and once to Brian Hughes. McCoy retired on April 25, April and Johnson won his first senior jockeys’ title in 2015/16, with a career-best 235 winners on British soil, before successfully defending it in 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19.

Johnson rode his last winner, Camprond, trained by Philip Hobbs, in a maiden hurdle at Taunton on March 23, 2021, before tearfully announcing his retirement, with immediate effect, at Newton Abbott on April 3, 2021. He told the ‘Racing Post’, “It was particularly important to me to finish on one for Philip and Sarah Hobbs [Brother Tedd, who finished third] who, like Henry Daly, have supported me for over 20 years. I’ll never be able to articulate what their loyalty has meant to me.”

At the end of his career, Johnson had ridden 3,819 National Hunt winners in Great Britain and Ireland, making him just the second man to exceed 3,000 winners – he reached that landmark on St. Saviour, trained by Hobbs, in a juvenile hurdle at Ludlow on February 3, 2016 – and the second-most-prolific National Hunt jockey in history, behind only McCoy. At the Cheltenham Festival, he rode total of 23 winners, including Looks Like Trouble, trained by Noel Chance, and Native River, trained by Colin Tizzard, in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2000 and 2018, respectively. He also rode in the Grand National a record 21 times, without success, although he did finish second on What’s Up Boys and Balthazar King, both trained by Hobbs in 2002 and 2014.

Ruby Walsh

admin May 28, 2026

Born in Kill, County Kildare on May 14, 1979, Rupert ‘Ruby’ Walsh is the eldest son of trainer and former leading amateur jockey Ted Walsh. He rode his first winner, Siren Song, trained by his father, in a ‘bumper’ at Gowran Park on July 15, 1995 and his last, Kemboy, trained by Willie Mullins, in the Punchestown Gold Cup on May 1, 2019, after which he announced his immediate retirement. All told, Walsh rode 2,756 winners in Britain and Ireland, making him the third-most-prolific National Hunt jockey in history, behind only Tony Mcoy and Richard Johnson. In his native Ireland, where he rode a record 1,980 winners, he was champion amateur twice, in 1996/97 and 1997/98, and champion jockey a record 12 times between 1998/99 and 2016/17.

At the Cheltenham Festival, Walsh rode his first winner, Alexander Banquet, trained by Willie Mullins, in the Champion Bumper on March 18, 1998. Later in his career, he enjoyed profitable associations with Mullins, on one side of the Irish Sea, and Paul Nicholls, on the other, enabled him to ride a record 59 winners at the March showpiece meeting. Indeed, Walsh was leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival a record 11 times between 2004 and 2017, including a record seven winners over the four days in both 2009 and 2016. His Festival haul included winning the Stayers’ Hurdle a record five times, the Champion Hurdle and the Ryanair Chase four times apiece, the Queen Mother Champion Chase three times and the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice.

The best horse Walsh rode was Kauto Star, trained by Paul Nicholls – still the joint-fourth highest-rated steeplechaser in the history of Timeform – on whom he won the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice and the King George VI Chase a record five times. Last, but by no means least, Walsh also won the Grand National twice, on Papillon, trained by his father, in 2000 and Hedgehunter, trained byWillie Mullins, in 2005.

Lester Piggott

admin May 28, 2026

Born in Wantage, Berkshire on November 5, 1935, Lester Piggott became apprenticed to his father, Keith, and rode his first winner, The Chase, at Haydock on August 18, 1948, when still only 12 years old. Indeed, he was still only 14 when he rode out his claim on Zina at Brighton on September 20, 1950. Fast forward to October 5, 1994, again at Haydock, and Piggott guided Palacegate Jack, trained by Jack Berry, to a short-head victory in a five-furlong conditions stakes race, thereby recording his final winner on British soil prior to his retirement, for the second and final time, the following season, at the age of 59.

At the time of his retirement, Piggott had ridden 4,493 winners on the Flat in Britain alone, including a record 30 British Classic winners. He first won the Derby on Never Say Die, trained by Joseph Lawson, in 1954, but went on to win the second colts’ Classic on Crepello (1957), St Paddy (1960), Sir Ivor (1968), Nijinsky (1970), Roberto (1972), Empery (1976), The Minstrel (1977) and Teenoso (1983) for a record nine wins altogether. Of course, Nijinsky, trained by Vincent O’Brien, subsequently became the last horse to win the Triple Crown, justify odds of 2/7 with a comfortable win in the St. Leger at Doncaster.

At various stages of his career, Piggott was stable jockey to Noel (later Sir Noel) Murless, Vincent O’Brien and Murless’ son-in-law, Henry (later Sir Henry) Cecil. He was champion jockey 11 times between 1960 and 1982, including eight years running between 1964 and 1971, and reached the landmark of 4,000 career winners on Ardross, trained by Henry Cecil, in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes at Newbury on August 14, 1982. Ardross also won back-to-back renewals of the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in 1981 and 1982, contributing two to the record 116 victories Piggott chalked up at the June showpiece.