Horse Racing is one of the most successful and longest-running sports of all time. With the evolution of the sport over the years, the sport has branched out to many countries across the world. Even with the growth of racing, Ireland still has some of the best Jockeys of all time. Whether it's a great jockey turned a fantastic trainer or a fantastic jockey turned into a great trainer, Irish heritage runs through the sport.
Ruby Walsh
Ruby Walsh is one of the most famous and influential jockeys of all time. He gained over 1900 wins over his illustrious career and this includes the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He had a very famous partnership with his legendary horse Kauto Star and he is also known for being the son of Ted Walsh who is also an iconic jockey. During his career, he won the Irish and English Grand National twice, which is another astonishing feat. Very little alluded the jockey during his career and he will always be remembered as one of the greatest jockeys of all time.
W P Mullins
Fans of horse racing may be a bit surprised by Mullins being on this list as he is better known as a trainer than as a jockey and this is true. However, when you are this good of a trainer, leaving you off the list is something that we cannot accept. Mullins has got a reputation for being the best horse trainer in the world, he has 200 horses currently in training and is known as the most successful trainer in Cheltenham history, amassing 94 winners since he started to train which is the highest by some distance. He continues to have new and exciting horses enter horse races, most recently having the novice horse Nick Rockett at 6/1 odds to win the Irish Grand National, making him the comfortable favourite. Mullins’ legacy will continue to grow and he will continue to produce world-class horses.
Tony McCoy
McCoy is a massive name in horse racing and an Irish icon, with 4300 wins over his career. He won the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice (in 1997 and 2012), the Grand National and every other major race in the sport. He retired after a long storied career in April 2015 and ended his career with a BBC Sports Personality of the Year award (2010) and an RTE Sports Person of the Year award (2013).
Mick Kinane
The Irish Jockey was the champion on 13 separate occasions. He won his first ride in public and was later crowned the champion apprentice in 1978 and Irish Champion jockey for the first time in 1984. He rode 1500 winners during his career and was known for horses such as Galileo and Sea The Stars. Most of his major wins were in the UK and Ireland but he did win major international tournaments too. He was known all around the horse racing world and is considered one of the most stylish Jockeys of all time. He retired in 2009 after a long and successful career.
Who is the best?
The best jockey is a subjective thing that is different depending on the person you ask. If you asked me today who I think is the best I would say Tony McCoy but that could change tomorrow and so on. The beauty of horse racing is the fact that it is ever-changing and ever-growing. In the next 20 years, we could have the same list with a host of new names who have started their career and become the best. We do expect this list to change over time and we are happy that we got to see some of the biggest horse racers of all time represent us.