Jockey

Jonathan Burke, who hails from Glengoura, near Mallow, County Cork, was only 16 when he rode his first winner, Trendy Gift, owned and trained by his father, Liam, in a mares’ bumper at Cork on April 9, 2012. He recorded his first major success on Very Much So, trained by Willie Mullins, in the Goffs Land Rover Bumper at Punchestown on April 29, 2014 and turned professional the following month.

Burke rode his first winner as a professional, Golden Kite, trained by Adrian Maguire, in the Connact National at Roscommon in June 9, 2014. Indeed, he was still only 18 and claiming 5lb when he was offered the job as retained jockey to the late Alan Potts, for whom he went on to win the Champion Chase at Gowran Park on Sizing Europe, the Future Champions Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown on Sizing Europe and the Maghull Novices’ Chase at Aintree on Sizing Granite, among other high-profile races.

An injury-plagued campaign in 2016 effectively sounded a death knell for the association with Potts and, in July 2017, Burke crossed the Irish Sea to become stable jockey to Charlie Longsdon in Over Norton, Oxfordshire. He has subsequently occupied the same position with Tom George in Slad, Gloucester and, more recently, with Fergal O’Brien in Withington, near Cheltenham, following the retirment of the previous incumbent, Paddy Brennan.

Burke enjoyed his most successful season on British soil in 2021/22, when he rode 63 winners. He has five Grade 1 win victories to his name, including the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle on Not So Sleepy, trained by Hughie Morrison, in 2021 and back-to-back renewals of the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot on Crambo, trained by O’Brien, in 2023 and 2024.

Born in Brighton on May 12, 2000, Jason Watson rode his first winner, Many Dreams, trained by Gary Moore, in an apprentice handicap at Salisbury on May 18, 2017. His inaugural season yielded just one more winner from a total of 41 rides, but in 2018 he rode an astonishing 111 winners – 77 of which came in the ‘window’ between the Guineas Festival at Newmarket and British Champions Day at Ascot, on which the apprentices’ title is decided – and rode out his claim on Archimento, trained by William Knight, in a handicap at Kempton on October 8. Seasonal highlights included winning the Stewards’ Cup at Goodwood on Gifted Master, trained by Hugo Palmer, and the Premio Lydia Tesio at Capannelle on God Given, trained by Luca Cumani.

In 2019, as stable jocket to now-retired Beckhampton trainer Roger Charlton, Watson rode 97 winners, including his first domestic Group 1 winner, Quadrilateral, in the Fillies’ Mile. His seasonal tally was all the more remarkable for the fact he was sidelined until the end of March after fracturing four vertebrae when his mount, Teresita Alvarez, stumbled badly and threw him to the ground at Kempton Park on January 4. However, after a less prolific season in 2020, in which he rode just 36 winners, Watson and Charlton eventually parted company in the summer of 2021. All told, Watson has nine Group race winners to his name, at home and abroad, the most recent of which was the Group 3 Goldene Peitsche at Baden-Baden on Al Shabab Storm, trained by Andrew Balding, on August 25, 2024.

James Bowen is, of course, the son of Pembrokeshire trainer Peter Bowen and the younger brother of fellow jockey Sean Bowen. A graduate from pony and point-to-point racing, Bowen turned professional at the age of 16 and rode his first winner as a professional, Curious Carlos, trained by his father, in a handicap hurdle at Cartmel on May 27, 2017. He subsequently became conditional jockey to Upper Lambourn trainer Nicky Henderson and in 2017/18 rode 58 winners on his way to succeeding brother Sean as the youngest Champion Conditional Jockey in history. On January 6, 2018, Bowen made headlines when winning the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow on the 13-year-old Raz De Maree, trained by Gavin Cromwell, thereby becoming the youngest jockey ever to win that race, too.

Bowen enjoyed is most successful season so far in 2021/22, when he rode 74 winners from 338 rides, at a strike rate of 19%, and amassed £960,334 in prize money. Fast forward to 2024/25 and he has, at the time of writing, ridden 65 winners from 357 rides to lie sixth in the senior jockeys’ championship. All told, Bowen has 27 Graded and Listed winners to his name, his first Grade 1 win coming on Jango Baie, trained by Henderson, in the Formby Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree on Boxing Day 2023. He has ridden 11 winners at Cheltenham, including Call Me Lord in the International Hurdle in 2019 and Sir Gino in the Finesse Hurdle in 2024, but none so far at the Cheltenham Festival.

Born in Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland, Danny McMenamin received early tutelage from local trainer Brian Hamilton and Ger Lyons in County Meath. He was still only 17 when he took the advice of former Grand National-winning jockey Tony Dobbin and crossed the Irish Sea to join Nicky Richards at Greystoke Stables in Penrith Cumbria.

McMenamin got off the mark for the yard at the first attempt, steering Western Rules to a short-head victory in an amateur riders’ handicap hurdle at Ayr on March 9, 2018. The following November he made his big breakthrough when, as a 7lb claimer, he won the Greatwood Hurdle at Cheltenham on Nietzsche, trained by Brian Ellison. McMenamin rode 16 winners in 2018/19, 28 winners in 2019/20 and 46 winners in 2020/21. In the latter season, he rode out his claim on Archie Brown, trained by Henry Hogarth, in a novices’ handicap chase at Market Rasen on February 21m en route to winning the conditional jockeys’ title.

Richards aside, McMenamin has formed a profitable association with Ann Hamilton, who trains a small string in Capheaton, Northumberland, but has nonetheless provided him with 32 winners in his career to date, including three of his four Grade 2 winners. The partnership won the Old Roan Chase at Aintree on Nuts Well in 2020, the Champion Hurdle Trial at Haydock Park with Tommy’s Oscar in 2022 and the Lightning Novices’ Chase at Doncaster with the same horse the following year. At the time of writing, McMenamin look destined for his most successful season yet, having already equalled his career-best total of 49 winners, which he achieved in 2023/24.