Dylan Johnston

The headline statistic, though, is the top-level wins. Johnston has now won 4 of racing's biggest prizes across his short career, at venues including Haydock Park, Warwick and Exeter. Two of those came in the space of a fortnight in February 2026, which is the sort of purple patch that gets people talking. Big occasions clearly do not faze him — and that matters enormously at the top level, where experience and nerve count for almost as much as skill.

Nowhere does Johnston look more at home than at Ascot. He has won 4 races from just 7 rides there, which means he is winning more than half the time at one of the most prestigious venues in the country. That is a remarkable return at any track, but at Ascot — where the fields are competitive and the crowds expect quality — it is genuinely striking. He also has a particular edge when the ground is wet and muddy, winning 2 from 6 races in those conditions, a 33% return that suggests he knows exactly how to adapt his riding when conditions get difficult.

His most reliable working relationship is with trainer Sam Thomas, and it has become one of the more productive partnerships in the sport. Together they have combined for 19 wins from 68 races — just over 1 in every 4 — which is the kind of consistency that builds reputations. Then there is Rocking Man, the horse with whom Johnston has built a near-perfect record: 2 wins from just 3 races together, the sort of partnership where horse and rider seem to bring the best out of each other.

Still only four years into his career, Johnston is already operating at the highest level and improving every season. If the numbers continue in the direction they are heading, this is a jockey worth knowing about.