Arguably one of the most decorated jump jockeys in the modern era and at a time when AP McCoy was riding high (get it?!) Davy Russell is certainly a name that jumps out when thinking about successful jump jockeys.

Born in Youghal, County Cork, he is well-regarded in racing circles and having grown up on a farm his life revolved around animals, especially horses, often helping with local hunts.

Also, his father owned a number of race horses, so Russell’s passion was developed from an early age which naturally led to an interest in point-to-point racing which he did for four years with his first win coming in February 1999.

Significant Career Achievements

Having turned professional in 2002, Russell is a jockey who achieved a very respectable career rank, considering that he was competing with the likes’ of McCoy, who dominated the Jockeys’ Championship, plus fellow Irish star, Ruby Walsh. Indeed, this was an era that was very competitive with a lot of top jump jockeys in the sport.

His first professional win came in November 2002 atop Inn Antique at Sedgefield, while Russell was a reliable Cheltenham Festival winner over the years, with his first victory coming in 2006 on Native Jack.

In 2014, he won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Lord Windermere – arguably the highlight of his career at that point, though he was crowned Irish Jump Jockey of the Year on three occasions: 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2017/18, though he was runner-up for several years until he first won it.

Indeed, the year he won this for the third time, he really was enjoying great success. In 2018, he also won the Grand National on Tiger Roll and followed this up in 2019 – an incredible feat on its own, though he also was the oldest jockey to win the race at 38 on the smallest horse in the field. Furthermore, this was the first time that this had happened since Red Rum achieved consecutive victories in the 1970s.

With over 1500 career victories in Great Britain and Ireland, this included 61 Grade 1 wins, while he experienced success in the Galway Plate (2017), Coral Cup, RSA Chase, Ryanair Chase, and Irish Gold Cup.

Rewarding Retirement

Although he retired in December 2022, he actually came back in January 2023 as a favour to trainer Gordon Elliot, following his jockey, Jack Kennedy’s injury and as such, claimed a winner at Punchestown.

Finally, Russell retired in April of that year and has since done a number of different things. He still stays involved in the sport, sometimes making media appearances, while he is also passionate about charity initiatives.

Since then, he has also released his autobiography, in which he talks about his career in addition to sharing valuable insights about his achievements plus his tough breaks, such as injuries and how he got through this.

Ultimately, there is no doubt that Russell left his mark on the sport and is one of the very few jump jockeys that is in the record books, being part of a special group.