Harry Cobden will become the retained rider for champion racehorse owner J.P. McManus next season. The news was announced on Monday morning in a statement issued by McManus to the Racing Post.

A former champion jockey in Britain, Cobden is currently attached to the Paul Nicholls yard but his new job will see him divide his time between Ireland and Britain as he will also replace Mark Walsh as chief rider for McManus in Ireland.

Walsh, who will be 40 next May, will continue to be the main rider for McManus for the rest of this season.

From Somerset, Cobden is 27 and has been attached to the Nicholls yard since he was 13 years of age. He was a champion point-to-point rider before turning professional in 2015.

He rode his first Grade 1 winner for Nicholls in 2016 and had his first Cheltenham Festival winner in 2018. Later that year he rode Clan Des Obeaux to win the King George VI Chase at Kempton for Nicholls.

He was crowned champion jockey in the 2023-'24 season.

Last April he won the Scottish Grand National on Captain Cody, trained by Willie Mullins, and a valuable hurdle race at Fontwell on Absurde for the same trainer.

In January 2024 Emmet Mullins gave Cobden the winning ride on Noble Yeats in the Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Swan and Geraghty views

Charlie Swan, who rode countless big race winners for McManus and remains part of the owner's racing operation, told the Press Association: “Harry’s a very, very good rider, isn’t he? You can see why they’ve chosen him. He’s a really good rider and Paul’s not got as many good horses as he did have. There’s lots of nice horse for him, so it will be a good move for him. J.P.’s obviously a great man to be riding for. It’s one of the best jobs in National Hunt racing.”

Cobden has little experience riding across the Irish Sea, but Swan thinks it will be a simple transition for him to divide his time between Britain and Ireland.

He added: “It isn’t much different from England really, with lots of small and bigger tracks so it will not be a big change from what he has experienced in Britain.”

Barry Geraghty, who was the retained rider for McManus between 2015 and 2020, thinks Cobden is the perfect candidate.

The William Hill ambassador said: “It’s one of the best jobs in racing. There’s a depth of quality there at all levels, you’ve last season’s Gold Cup and Ryanair winners, The New Lion, Jonbon, a bunch of smart novices and plenty more.

“It’s a massive opportunity for Harry and I’m sure he will grab it with both hands. It will be different for him riding in Ireland and Britain, but he’s very capable and he won’t have any problem adjusting to that.

“Harry is a very good rider and I think he is the right type of person to ride for JP. He rides a patient race and JP would rather his horses were ridden patiently than aggressively, so his style should be well suited to the job. He rides well over fences and hurdles and is a good horseman.

“When you get any big job, you have an internal pressure, but as you get used to it and you relax, you realise you’re working for someone who has a great understanding of the sport and how it works.”

Nicky Henderson has trained more big-race winners for McManus than any other British-based trainer in recent years, most notably providing him with four Champion Hurdle wins courtesy of Binocular (2010), Buveur d’Air (2017, 2018) and Epatante (2020) and 10 Grade 1 with crack two-miler Jonbon.

Cobden is nought from three in rides for Henderson, a record the Seven Barrows handler hopes will quickly improve in the coming months.

“That must be down to my training, because it’s certainly not his riding,” Henderson said. “He’s a very good jockey, of course he is.”