Paul Townend

The big days suit him. Townend has won 38 top-level races — the kind that matter most, the ones that attract the best horses in the country — at some of the most famous venues in jumping: Cheltenham, Aintree, and Sandown Park. Most recently, he won at Cheltenham on 10 March 2026, which is as close to the sport's spiritual home as it gets. He also has victories at Kempton Park on Boxing Day 2025 and at Sandown in December 2025, meaning he has shown up on the days when the crowds are biggest and the pressure is highest.

Much of his success is built on one partnership that borders on telepathic. Alongside trainer W P Mullins — one of the most powerful yards in the sport — Townend has ridden 94 winners from 310 rides together, a win rate of 30%, or 1 in every 3 rides. That kind of consistency between a jockey and a trainer suggests a deep level of trust and communication. When Mullins sends a horse out with Townend in the saddle, the statistics say there is a very real chance it comes back first.

On a smaller scale, his record at Tipperary is almost absurd: 5 winners from just 8 runners. That means he has won more than half his races at that track, which is the sort of number that makes experienced racing watchers do a double-take. Whether it is his style of riding, an instinct for the track, or simply the quality of horses sent there, something clicks for him at Tipperary in a way it rarely does for anyone anywhere.

Four years in, 523 winners, 38 top-level victories — Paul Townend is not a promising young jockey anymore. He is the finished article.