Felix de Giles (born February 1989) is a Grade 1 winning British jockey who has been based in France since 2015 and competes in races over jumps. In 2023 he was crowned champion French jump jockey.

Background

De Giles grew up in

Stanton Fitzwarren Stanton Fitzwarren is a village and civil parish north-east of Swindon, in Wiltshire, England. It is within the area of the unitary authority of Swindon. Parish church The Grade I listed Church of England parish church of Saint Leonard h ...

, near

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, where his father trained horses. He started riding at a young age and competed in show jumping and pony racing, winning the pony racing championship in 2004. He attended

Highworth Warneford School Highworth Warneford School is a coeducational secondary school in the small town of Highworth, north of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. History Warneford Secondary Modern School was established in 1957. The main buildings from the original schoo ...

until he was sixteen and then studied for

A-levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

in the sixth form at

Farmor's School Farmor's School is a secondary school with academy status in Fairford, Gloucestershire. Including the Sixth Form, the school currently has about 1,000 students on roll. After receiving an inspection from Ofsted in 2017, the school was given a ...

, Fairford. Whilst still at school, he rode out for his father and local trainer John Manners. He rode his first point-to-point winner on the Manners-trained Hi Rudolph in March 2005 and had his first ride under rules in a hunters' chase at

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

the following month, coming fourth on Father Jim, trained by his father.

Career as a jockey

After completing his A-levels, de Giles joined the yard of

Nicky Henderson Nicholas John Henderson (born 10 December 1950) is a British racehorse trainer. He has been British jump racing Champion Trainer six times. Background His father was Johnny Henderson who was one of the founders of the Racecourse Holdings Tr ...

Lambourn Lambourn is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It lies just north of the M4 Motorway between Swindon and Newbury, and borders Wiltshire to the west and Oxfordshire to the north. After Newmarket it is the largest centre of r ...

conditional jockey A conditional jockey is an apprentice National Hunt racing jockey in Great Britain or Ireland under the age of 26 who has not won more than seventy-five races under rules or had not won that many races within the last six months. A conditional joc ...

. At the 2009

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Race ...

he won the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle on 25/1 Andytown for Martin Henderson. De Giles rode about 250 winners in Britain before moving to France in 2015 to ride as stable jockey at the yard of trainer Emmanuel Clayeux in

Vaumas Vaumas is a commune in the Allier department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Allier department The following is a list of the 317 Communes of France, communes of the Allier Departments ...

. After several seasons with Clayeux, he went free-lance. He won his first Grade race in April 2019, on Docteur De Ballon for Louisa Carberry in the Grade 3 Prix Ingre Chase at Auteuil Racecourse. He has ridden twice in the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, northeast of Liverpool city centre. In 2011 the parish had a p ...

and on both occasions completed the course. In 2012 he came thirteenth on Neptune Equester for Brian Ellison and in 2023 he came seventh on Roi Mage for Patrick Griffin. In May 2023, de Giles achieved his first Grade 1 win, riding Juntos Ganamos to victory in the Prix Ferdinand Dufaure for David Cottin. That season, he also won a Grade 2 and eight Grade 3 races. He finished the year with 92 winners and was crowned champion jump jockey of France.

Personal life

Outside of racing, de Giles participates in other sports, including boxing, and goes to rock concerts. In 2023 he married Orane Hurstel.

Major wins

France * Prix Ferdinand Dufaure - (1) - Juntos Ganamos (2023)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Giles, Felix 1989 births Living people British jockeys