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From Ruby Walsh to Fred Winter, we rank the most successful jockeys in Cheltenham history and look at which riders will lead the way at this year’s Festival.
The Cheltenham Festival is just around the corner and, while jumps racing’s very best horses will be on show, so too will the top jockeys across Britain, Ireland and even France.
Plenty of the Festival’s leading jockeys in history are retired, but Paul Townend is among those who will be in action this year and is the likely Cheltenham betting favourite to be named Leading Jockey.
Read on to find out who the most successful jockeys in Cheltenham history are, and explore our Cheltenham races guide to find out all you need to know about the Festival.
The jockeys with the most Cheltenham wins
1. Ruby Walsh
Ruby Walsh is out on his own as the Cheltenham Festival’s leading all-time rider with 59 wins.
He won each of the four championship races – the Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase, Stayers’ Hurdle and Gold Cup – at least twice.
He is remembered for riding the legendary Kauto Star, but other greats he won on at Cheltenham include Hurricane Fly, Big Buck’s, Master Minded, Faugheen, Quevega and Annie Power.
2. Barry Geraghty
Barry Geraghty is in a very respectable second with 43 winners, with his last one being Saint Roi in the 2020 County Hurdle. He rode five winners at the 2020 Cheltenham Festival.
He won the Gold Cup on Kicking King and Bobs Worth, the Champion Hurdle on Jezki and Punjabi, while he is also famed for his partnership with two-time Champion Chase winner Moscow Flyer.
3. Paul Townend
Paul Townend shot to third in the rankings with six winners at last year’s Cheltenham Festival, which also secured him the leading jockey award at the meeting again.
His most famous wins have been on Galopin Des Champs and Al Boum Photo in the Gold Cup – twice each – while he has also ridden the likes of State Man and Energumene to glory at Cheltenham too.
4. AP McCoy
Britain’s record-breaking 20-time champion jumps jockey AP McCoy enjoyed 31 Festival winners, including famously at his final one 10 years ago in the Ryanair Chase on Uxizandre.
He won the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice on Synchronised and Mr Mulligan and the Champion Hurdle three times alongside the Ryanair, Arkle and Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.
5. Pat Taaffe
Pat Taaffe was one of the finest riders of his generation with 25 Cheltenham Festival wins in an era where there were not as many races as there are now.
He famously rode the legendary Arkle to three Cheltenham Gold Cup victories, while he also won it in 1968 on Fort Leney.
6. Davy Russell
Daby Russell was one of the most reliable operators at the Cheltenham Festival during his career with 25 winners. His highlight came in the 2014 Gold Cup on Lord Windermere.
7. Richard Johnson
Richard Johnson rode 23 winners and won all of the big four races during the Cheltenham Festival, with the second of his Gold Cup successes coming on Native River in 2018.
Other famous Festival heroes he was associated with were Rooster Booster, Flagship Uberalles and Anzum.
8. Richard Dunwoody
One of the greatest jockeys of his era, Richard Dunwoody had 18 Cheltenham winners and landed the Gold Cup on Charter Party in 1988.
He won the 1990 Champion Hurdle on Kribensis, while he landed the Arkle three times too.
9. Charlie Swan
Charlie Swan was a 17-time winner at the Cheltenham Festival, but he was most famously associated for his partnership with the great Istabraq.
They teamed up to win three Champion Hurdles together, while Swan also won the 1995 Champion Chase on Viking Flagship and the Stayers’ Hurdle twice. He never won the Gold Cup.
10. Fred Winter
Completing the top ten is famous jockey and trainer Fred Winter, who has a race named after him at the Cheltenham Festival.
He won the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice in the saddle, but it was the Champion Hurdle in which he made his deepest mark, with three victories.
The leading jockeys at Cheltenham 2025
Every other jockey will be envious of the rides Paul Townend has lined up at this year’s Cheltenham Festival, as he gets the pick of the bunch from Willie Mullins’ stable.
Leading the way is the great Galopin Des Champs as bids for a third straight Cheltenham Gold Cup win, while Lossiemouth will have a huge chance in either the Champion Hurdle or Mares’ Hurdle.
Add into the mix exciting novice hurdlers Kopek Des Bordes and Final Demand, then Townend is the red-hot favourite to be the Festival’s leading rider again.
Nico de Boinville had a nightmare Cheltenham Festival blank last year, but his rides for Nicky Henderson look very powerful this time and are headed by Constitution Hill.
He can become a legend with a second Champion Hurdle win, while Jonbon may finally get his Festival victory in the Queen Mother Champion Chase.
Lulamba is a leading Triumph Hurdle hope and De Boinville is in pole position to add to his 16 Cheltenham wins.
Rachael Blackmore had a much better Festival a year ago and joined De Boinville on 16 winners with a double across the four days, with Slade Steel in the Supreme and Captain Guinness in the Champion Chase.
While her book of rides may not be as powerful this time around, she has got Captain Guinness to look forward to again, as well as old favourite Envoi Allen in the Ryanair and Mares’ Hurdle hope July Flower.
The odds for all of the jockeys’ rides can be seen on Betway’s Cheltenham odds page, and for betting tips, strategies and more information check out our guide on how to bet on Cheltenham.