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Best Jockeys at the Cheltenham Festival
Which jockeys have performed best over the past ten years at the Cheltenham Festival?
Top Five Cheltenham Jockeys
- Paul Townend with 38 wins
- Mark Walsh with 16 wins
- Nico de Boinville with 14 wins
- Jack Kennedy with 12 wins
- Harry Skelton with 11 wins
Carry on below as we will have a look at the top performers here based on wins and also in the place market.
Which jockeys are worth following? And which are best left alone? Also, see what our tipsters are tipping with their Cheltenham tips.
Head over to our essential Cheltenham Free Bets page to see the latest bookmaker offers at the Cheltenham Festival.
It is also worth keeping an eye on these jockeys in the build-up to Cheltenham, see which of them are hitting form and producing winners and see if the OLBG racing tipsters are backing these in the build-up on the main Horse Racing Tips page.
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Top Ten Cheltenham Festival Jockeys by Wins
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Townend | 171-38-76 | +29.18 | -1.51 |
| Mark Walsh | 118-16-37 | +45.75 | +11.88 |
| Nico de Boinville | 106-14-35 | +4.04 | -7.93 |
| Jack Kennedy | 124-12-44 | -9.19 | -8.83 |
| Harry Skelton | 105-11-33 | -18.17 | -15.44 |
| Harry Cobden | 120-7-28 | -7.50 | -11.87 |
| Mr P W Mullins | 81-7-26 | -8.58 | -12.09 |
| Keith Donoghue | 55-6-21 | -29.65 | -9.80 |
| Danny Mullins | 104-4-22 | -61.00 | -46.28 |
| J J Slevin | 58-4-15 | +3.50 | +0.71 |
Paul Townend (Top Jockey)
Five winners in 2020 for Paul Townend was his best return until he matched that number in both 2022 and 2023, and then in 2024 had his best festival to date, landing six winners from just fifteen rides, which was a 40% strike rate.
He has had pretty similar records for the past two festivals. In 2025, he had 4 winners from 16 rides, and then in 2026, he once again had 4 winners from 16 rides.
All 38 of his winners have come when teaming up with Willie Mullins. Twenty-two of his thirty-eight wins have come over hurdles, but at the same time, he has ridden 103 over hurdles and only 60 over fences, where he has fifteen wins.
Townend rode back-to-back Cheltenham Gold Cup winners in the saddle of Al Boum Photo in both 2019 & 2020 and returned in 2021 with that same runner looking to match the great Pat Taffe, the only jockey in history to win the race for three consecutive years, and that was with the legendary Arkle.
However, on his third attempt, Townend could only manage a third-place finish, and in 2022 finished sixth on that same runner; however, he picked up his third Gold Cup success with Galopin Des Champs in 2023 and then produced another back-to-back success and his fourth with the same runner winning in 2024.
In 2026, Paul Townend became the most successful jockey in the Cheltenham Gold Cup with his fifth win, this time on Gaelic Warrior, moving him past the great Pat Taaffe.
Mark Walsh (Second Best)
With Rachael Blackmore's retirement, Mark Walsh moved up the list into the second spot. He has ridden sixteen winners over the past ten festivals, and the majority of those have come for JP McManus.
Walsh has ridden at least one winner at the festival in each year since 2018, with his standout year coming in 2025 when he rode four winners with a career high coming when winning his first Gold Cup with Inothewayurthinkin.
It is certainly worth noting that when Walsh rides over hurdles, his LSP is +73.00 over hurdles, whilst it is -24.25 over fences. It will be interesting to see what Walsh gets to ride at future festivals with Harry Cobden taking over as JP's number one jockey.
Nico de Boinville (Best of the Brits)
Nico de Boinville has recorded a total of fourteen wins in the past ten festivals from one hundred and six rides and returns an LSP of +4.04 if backing all of these rides.
He slipped down to third in the jockey rankings, having dropped below Mark Walsh, and he hasn't really been banging in the winners. A blank in 2024 and then just one winner at each of the last two festivals, he has only had 3 winners at the last 4 festivals.
He has ridden seven winning outright favourites from seventeen rides, three of those being on board Altior, and 86% of his fourteen winners have come with a runner who won their last race before coming to the festival.
Top Cheltenham Festival Jockeys
Here are the best Cheltenham Festival jockeys since 2007 and a graph to show how they have progressed with each year:
The Not So Good Cheltenham Festival Jockeys Records
When it comes to blanks, Sean Bowen leads the way without a single winner from a total of fifty-three rides, which is by far the worst record on offer!
What will hurt him more is that at the 2026 festival, his younger brother, James, ended his wait for a festival winner and, in fact, rode two winners.
Other noticeable jockeys without winners are Barry O'Neill (0-26), Stan Sheppard (0-19) and David Noonan (0-18).
Sam Twiston-Davies (1-114) doesn't have the best of records, with just one winner from one hundred and fourteen rides and Jonathan Burke (1-51), Brian Hayes (1-40), and Tom Cannon (1-40) are similar.
Top Ten Cheltenham Festival Jockeys in Handicaps
Harry Skelton sits in the top spot in handicap, having notched up six winners; those have come from a total of fifty rides, and his mounts have returned an LSP of +1.83.
Sam Twiston-Davies is 0-62 in handicaps at the festival since 2017, and Jonathan Burke has also struggled in handicaps with a 0-25 record.
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Skelton | 50-6-16 | +1.83 | +2.04 |
| Mark Walsh | 45-5-11 | +16.00 | +3.17 |
| Paul Townend | 31-4-8 | +10.75 | +1.05 |
| Jonjo O'Neill Jr | 33-3-5 | -8.00 | -14.05 |
| J J Slevin | 31-3-10 | -3.50 | -0.29 |
| Danny Gilligan | 23-3-5 | -3.00 | -5.62 |
| Ben Jones | 20-3-4 | +3.50 | -2.55 |
| Harry Cobden | 54-2-14 | -20.00 | -5.22 |
| Jack Kennedy | 49-2-13 | -11.00 | -4.59 |
| Brian Hughes | 18-2-4 | +15.50 | +9.19 |
Schedule for Tuesday at the Cheltenham Festival
Prepare for the ROAR of the Cheltenham Festival on the opening day, when the tape goes up for the Supreme Novices Hurdle. The feature on Tuesday is the Champion Hurdle.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 13:20 Cheltenham Supreme Novices Hurdle | Old Park Star (IRE) 6yo - 15/8 | Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville |
| 14:00 Cheltenham Arkle Challenge Trophy | Kargese (FR) 6yo - 7/1 | W P Mullins Danny Mullins |
| 14:40 Cheltenham Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle | Saratoga (IRE) 4yo - 10/1 | Padraig Roche Mark Walsh |
| 15:20 Cheltenham Ultima Handicap Chase | Johnnywho (IRE) 9yo - 18/1 | Jonjo & A J O'Neill Richie McLernon |
| 16:00 Cheltenham Champion Hurdle | Lossiemouth (FR) 7yo - 7/5 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 16:40 Cheltenham Festival Plate | Madara (FR) 7yo - 3/1 | Dan Skelton Harry Skelton |
| 17:20 Cheltenham National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup | Holloway Queen (IRE) 6yo - 12/1 | Nicky Henderson James Bowen |
Schedule for Wednesday at the Cheltenham Festival
The dust has settled on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival, and now on to day two. The feature on the second day is the Queen Mother Champion Chase. We also have the cross country scheduled on Wednesday, a race like Marmite, some love it, and some don't!
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 13:20 Cheltenham Turners Novices Hurdle | King Rasko Grey (FR) 6yo - 11/1 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 14:00 Cheltenham Brown Advisory Novices Chase | Kitzbuhel (FR) 6yo - 11/1 | W P Mullins Harry Cobden |
| 14:40 Cheltenham BetMGM Cup | Jingko Blue (FR) 7yo - 9/2 | Nicky Henderson James Bowen |
| 15:20 Cheltenham Cross Country Chase | Final Orders (GB) 10yo - 7/1 | Gavin Cromwell Conor Stone-Walsh |
| 16:00 Cheltenham Queen Mother Champion Chase | Il Etait Temps (FR) 8yo - 5/2 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 16:40 Cheltenham Johnny Henderson Grand Annual | Martator (FR) 9yo - 66/1 | Venetia Williams Charlie Deutsch |
| 17:20 Cheltenham Champion Bumper | The Mourne Rambler (IRE) 5yo - 15/2 | Noel Meade Colin Keane |
Schedule for Thursday at the Cheltenham Festival
Halfway through the festival and onto day three, where the Stayers Hurdle is the feature race. A hurdle race to test the stamina and see how can last up the Cheltenham hill.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 13:20 Cheltenham Mares Novices Hurdle | White Noise (IRE) 6yo - 40/1 | Kim Bailey & Mat Nicholls Tom Bellamy |
| 14:00 Cheltenham Novices Limited Handicap Chase | Meetmebythesea (IRE) 6yo - 9/1 | Ben Pauling Ben Jones |
| 14:40 Cheltenham Close Brothers Mares Hurdle | Wodhooh (FR) 6yo - 5/6 | Gordon Elliott Jack Kennedy |
| 15:20 Cheltenham Stayers Hurdle | Home By The Lee (IRE) 11yo - 33/1 | Joseph Patrick O'Brien J J Slevin |
| 16:00 Cheltenham Ryanair Chase | Heart Wood (FR) 8yo - 9/2 | Henry De Bromhead Darragh O'Keeffe |
| 16:40 Cheltenham Pertemps Network Final | Supremely West (IRE) 8yo - 100/30 | Dan Skelton Harry Skelton |
| 17:20 Cheltenham Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup | Ask Brewster (IRE) 7yo - 22/1 | Mrs C Williams Mr S Cotter |
Schedule for Friday at the Cheltenham Festival
The final day of the festival and the feature race that we have all been waiting for, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, in which the Irish have been fairly dominant in recent years.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 13:20 Cheltenham Triumph Hurdle | Apolon De Charnie (FR) 4yo - 50/1 | W P Mullins Mr P W Mullins |
| 14:00 Cheltenham County Handicap Hurdle | Wilful (IRE) 7yo - 14/1 | Jonjo & A J O'Neill Jonjo O'Neill Jr |
| 14:40 Cheltenham Mrs Paddy Power Mares Chase | Dinoblue (FR) 9yo - 11/8 | W P Mullins Mark Walsh |
| 15:20 Cheltenham Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle | Johnnys Jury (IRE) 6yo - 20/1 | Jamie Snowden Gavin Sheehan |
| 16:00 Cheltenham Cheltenham Gold Cup | Gaelic Warrior (GER) 8yo - 11/4 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 16:40 Cheltenham Festival Hunters Chase | Barton Snow (IRE) 9yo - 9/2 | J J O'Shea Mr Henry Crow |
| 17:20 Cheltenham Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle | Air Of Entitlement (IRE) 7yo - 10/1 | Henry De Bromhead Patrick M O'Brien |
Article Contributor Information
We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this Best Jockeys at the Cheltenham Festival are Andy and Darren. They both work on the Horse Racing Tips team, overseeing the tipsters and managing the tip settlement, while also creating and managing all the horse racing event previews for National Hunt Racing.
Darren Brett
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Andy Powell
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