Cheltenham

cheltenham 2007 / 2007 news /

Tony McCoy is The Festival’s Leading Jockey
05/02/07

Tony McCoy & Baracouda
© racing-images.co.uk

Champion Tony McCoy, with 18 wins to date, is the most successful current jockey at The Festival. Since partnering Kibreet to success in the 1996 Grand Annual Chase, the record-breaking rider has gone on to land a further 17 successes, with two of his greatest triumphs coming in 1997 through a rare big-race double aboard Mr Mulligan in the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup and Make A Stand in the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle two days earlier. The 2006 Festival saw McCoy ride three winners, including Brave Inca in the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle.

He was also leading rider in both 1997 and 1998 and has ridden a winner at every subsequent Festival except 2005, when he surprisingly drew a blank.

McCoy is closely followed by Mick Fitzgerald with 14 wins and Richard Johnson, who has 12 successes to his name. Ruby Walsh, the leading rider at the 2006 Festival, and the 2003 leading rider Barry Geraghty both have 11 victories apiece. The very competitive nature of The Festival is demonstrated by the fact that the Racing Post Leading Rider Award has been won by four different jockeys for the past five Festivals.

The previous winners of the Racing Post Leading Rider Award are listed below, with current jockeys in bold.

2006 Ruby Walsh (3)
2005 Graham Lee (3)
2004 Ruby Walsh (3)
2003 Barry Geraghty (5)
2002 Richard Johnson (2)
2001 Cancelled - foot & mouth
2000 Mick FitzGerald (4)
1999 Mick FitzGerald (4)
1998 Tony McCoy (5)
1997 Tony McCoy (3)
1996 Richard Dunwoody (2)
1995 Norman Williamson (4)
1994 Charlie Swan (3)
1993 Charlie Swan (4)
1992 Jamie Osborne (5)
1991 Peter Scudamore (2)
1990 Richard Dunwoody (2)
1989 Tom Morgan (2)
1988 Simon Sherwood (2)
1987 Peter Scudamore (2)
1986 Peter Scudamore (2)
1985 Steve Smith Eccles (3)
1984 Jonjo O'Neill (2)
1983 Graham Bradley (2)
1982 Jonjo O'Neill (1)
1981 John Francome (3)
1980 Jim Wilson (3)

Andy Clifton, Communications Manager at Cheltenham, said: "The Racing Post Leading Rider Award provides an added element of competition at The Festival in addition to the 24 top-class races. A P McCoy, Ruby Walsh, Richard Johnson, Barry Geraghty, Mick FitzGerald and Graham Lee have all won the award in the last decade, and both they and a few of their weighing room colleagues will be eager to get their hands on the trophy in 2007."