Ireland is world-famous for producing some of the most decorated jockeys in racing – and 2024 was a huge year for homegrown talent. The likes of Sam Ewing, Darragh O’Keeffe and Paul Townend have all claimed major podiums so far in the 2024/25 National Hunt – and that’s only scratching the surface of the top performers.

Sam Ewing

At the time of writing, Sam Ewing stands head and shoulders above all others as Ireland’s most successful jockey in 2024’s National Hunt. Claiming at least 39 wins and 89 podium finishes, the Antrim-born rider has come a long way since his first win in 2020.

We’ve seen Ewing riding the likes of Tiger Roll, Master Matt and The Blue Panther over his career – and most recently, he has taken runners such as Blue Mosque and Romeo Coolio to the front of the pack. Anyone checking racing insights online will usually see Ewing’s horses with pretty short odds – and this is likely to continue into 2025. Despite a few disappointing finishes heading into November, Ewing has come out of midfield in the jockey rankings to take 2024 by storm.

Darragh O’Keeffe

Finishing inside the top 10 best-performing Irish jockeys for the 2023/24 National Hunt, Cork-born Darragh O’Keeffe is one of the youngest jockeys to fly this high on the roster.

He claimed his first winner back in 2018 at the age of 18, and in recent weeks, he has continued to rack up top five finishes regularly.

Notable winning runners for O’Keeffe this year have included Quilixios, Heart Wood and Gorgeous Tom. If there’s one thing that sets to put O’Keeffe in contention for the most successful Irish jockey in 2025, it’s consistency. Can he pull off the top spot?

Paul Townend

When it comes to consistency, you can hardly beat Paul Townend, who came second in last year’s National Hunt out of a particularly competitive Irish scene. Claiming more than €3.4m in the last National Hunt, Townend has once again challenged the top three in this new season.

Closely associated with Willie Mullins, Townend famously won 2024’s Grand National riding the Mullins-trained I Am Maximus. This was his first-ever National win – meaning that all eyes will be on the jockey to repeat this success in 2025.

Does he have the mettle and the endurance to break the top three and for another year? Moreover, where will he finish out the current season? We will have to wait and see, but Townend’s record is one that many Irish jockeys can only dream of emulating.

Keith Donoghue

Keith Donoghue followed Paul Townend closely in the Irish rankings in third place in last year’s Hunt, and at the time of writing, he is riding similarly highly in a respectable fourth. Of course, there’s room left to challenge, but 2025/26 could well be Donoghue’s big Hunt.

The Meath-born rider is no stranger to success, having run his first victory on Nino Cochise, a Gordon Elliott horse, back in 2009. He has ridden a number of graded races and has famously ridden the legendary Tiger Roll to several big victories over the years.

This past year, he has notably racked up five unique winners at the Cheltenham Festival, putting him in close contention with the likes of Townend for Ireland’s best-performing jockey across 2024. Time will tell if he can convert on these successes in the next Hunt.

Danny Mullins

Kilkenny’s Danny Mullins closes out our current top five, and he’s no stranger to the top 10 in previous National Hunts. The son of Tony and Mags Mullins, this former pony champion has ridden big winners at Cheltenham and proven himself to be a reliable handicap star.

Heading late into 2024, Mullins has continued to rack up wins at Navan and Gowran Park, with major victories in Galway and Down Royal just a few weeks before the writing of this article.

Like Donoghue and Townend, Mullins is an impressively consistent rider with the benefit of having grown up with some of the best in the business.

Who will top the Hunt in 2025?

Sam Ewing has come out of nowhere to beat back an incredible wave of riding talent this past year – but don’t ever count out Paul Townend! Keep your eyes on the big meetings this coming spring for a taste of what’s to come.