Cheltenham Festival: Who Will Be The Top Jockey?

While the Cheltenham Festival is primarily about the horses themselves, those taking to the saddle are nevertheless crucial to proceedings.

The Top Jockey award at the Cheltenham Festival holds a significant level of prestige, and the competition this year looks as fierce as ever.

Topping the market this year is Paul Townend, priced at 9/4, who has caught the eye of many a punter.

The Middleton-born rider is now Willie Mullins’ main man, and the 63-year-old (who is incidentally favourite for Top Trainer) has an excellent array of horses at his disposal for Townend to ride.

Mullins’ previous number one, Ruby Walsh, retired last season, and with 11 Top Jockey wins from his last 16 attempts at the Cheltenham Festival shows just why punters are taking a keen interest in Townend.

Davy Russell is as short as 10/3 in this market, while Barry Geraghty is third-favourite at 5/1 in most places.

The former has shortened from 9/2 since Jack Kennedy was injured at the Dublin Racing Festival. He unusually did not have winner last year, but it would be silly to write off the Cheltenham master pilot.

Rachel Blackmore has attracted a whopping 24% of all bets through Oddschecker in this market over the last 24 hours, and she can still be backed for Top Jockey at 6/1. Her rise to the top is quite incredible and with rides on the likes of Honeysuckle, Minella Indo and A Plus Tard, it is no wonder she has proven popular.

Last year’s winner, Nico de Boinville, is the great English hope for Cheltenham Festival’s Top Jockey, and can be backed at 10/1 to reclaim his crown.

At a slightly bigger price, Robbie Power is priced at a chunky 16/1 in some places, which has seen him attract 18% of all bets in this market over the last week – more than anyone else. ‘Puppy’ has had an brillaint season and to land the top jockey title at Cheltenham would be the icing on the cake.

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