The Aintree Grand National is at the heart of British popular culture. Even those who aren’t familiar with horse racing like to have a bet on the biggest jump race in UK horse racing.
One of the main trends that bettors look for when picking a potential Grand National winner is the jockeys on board each entry. Many jockeys have a proud past in the Grand National, with their successes around Aintree cementing them in British horse racing folklore.
The Most Successful Jockeys in the Grand National
Below, we shine a spotlight on seven Grand National jockeys who have tasted that winning feeling at Aintree’s finishing post. Some of whom have gone on to win the Grand National multiple times, safely negotiating the four-mile, 514-yard course with bravery and precision.
George Stevens
English jockey George Stevens remains at the top of the list of the best Grand National jockeys in the race’s history. Stevens rode no less than five Grand National winners between 1856 and 1870. He won the National on four separate horses, winning back-to-back Grand Nationals with The Colonel in 1869 and 1870, respectively.
Stevens died aged 38 after sustaining a fractured skull when riding his horse home in Cleeve Hill.
Brian Fletcher
Brian Fletcher is a three-time Grand National winner in 1968, 1973 and 1974. Fletcher enjoyed a historic 1974 season, winning both the English and Scottish Grand Nationals. Fletcher was the jockey on board Red Rum in 1973 and 1974, as well as during his second-place finish in 1975.
A fall-out between Fletcher and Red Rum trainer Ginger McCain meant he would go on to ride Eyecatcher to a third-place finish in 1976. Fletcher won his first Aintree Grand National aged only 20 on board Red Alligator.
Jack Anthony
The Welsh National Hunt jockey’s biggest claim to fame in the sport was his three Grand National successes at Aintree. Interestingly, all three of Anthony’s race wins came as an amateur jockey. Anthony won his first Grand National on-board Glenside in 1911, before further victories on Ally Sloper and Troytown in 1915 and 1920, respectively.
Anthony turned professional in 1921, becoming champion jockey for a second time in 1928.
Ruby Walsh
Former Irish jockey Ruby Walsh is widely regarded as one of the finest National Hunt jockeys of all time. He ranks third behind AP McCoy and Richard Johnson in terms of jump racing wins in the UK and Ireland. Walsh won the English Grand National at his first attempt in 2000, with the 20-year-old strolling to victory with Papillon.
Walsh also won the 2005 Grand National with Hedgehunter, finishing runner-up the following year and third in 2009.
Davy Russell
Irish National Hunt jockey, Davy Russell, is a two-time Grand National winner. The 44-year-old retired from the sport of horse racing in December 2022. Both of Russell’s Grand National victories came aboard Gordon Elliott’s Tiger Roll in 2018 and 2019. Russell and Tiger Roll would likely have gone on to compete for a hat-trick of National wins had it not been for the postponement of the race due to the pandemic.
Russell’s other biggest achievement was landing the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2014 with Lord Windermere.
Leighton Aspell
47-year-old Irish jockey Leighton Aspell won the Grand National in back-to-back years. Aspell landed the 2014 Grand National riding Pineau de Re and backed up his success with victory 12 months later on board Many Clouds. His victory with Many Clouds was an emotional one for Aspell, given that his 2014 ride, Pineau de Re, was also part of the 38-strong field.
Aspell came within a whisker of breaking his Grand National duck in 2003 when he finished runner-up on his Aintree debut with Supreme Glory.
Derek Fox
Another two-time winner of the Grand National, Derek Fox followed up his 2017 win on One For Arthur with his 2023 triumph aboard Corach Rambler. The Irish jockey also has impressive career wins at Aintree, thanks to his Mildmay Novices’ Chase win on Ahoy Senor in 2022 and with the same horse at the Sefton Novices’ Hurdle in 2021.
As of 2025, Fox has been riding for the Lucinda Russell stable, so we could see him on board Apple Away in the 2025 Grand National.
Paul Townend
Paul Townend secured his first Grand National win in 2024, riding I Am Maximus to a comfortable victory in Britain’s most famous horse race for the Willie Mullins stable. Although Townend has only won once in the National, he’s undoubtedly one of the most talented jockeys in the world right now, with a hugely impressive track record since 2015.
He has won the Cheltenham Gold Cup four times, twice with Al Boum Photo and twice on board Galopin Des Champs. He also has two wins in the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Energumene (2022 and 2023), as well as a win in the Champion Hurdle on State Man in 2024. If Townend rides I Am Maximus again in this year’s Grand National, we could be looking at the first back-to-back National winner since Tiger Roll (2018 and 2019).
Rachael Blackmore
Last but by no means least, Rachael Blackmore makes the cut as one of the best Grand National jockeys after becoming the first female winner at Aintree. The Irish National Hunt jockey won the 2021 Grand National, guiding Minella Times to victory by six-and-a-half lengths ahead of stablemate Balko Des Flos.
Blackmore would go on to create even more National Hunt history in 2022 after becoming the first female jockey to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup on board A Plus Tard. The victory was achieved by an impressive 15 clear lengths.
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