Rossa Ryan (born July 2000) is a

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (motorsport), a regulation set of the FIA for series-production touring cars used in motorsport. * Group One Thoroughbred horse races, the leading e ...

winning Irish

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

who competes in

flat racing Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all spor ...

and is based in Britain. He was the British All-Weather Champion Jockey of the 2023–24 season.

Background

Ryan grew up in Ballinderry, near

Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, where his father David Ryan has a

National Hunt National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, Great Britain and Ireland. Jump Racing requires horses to jump over fences and ditches. In ...

training yard. He was a champion rider on the pony racing circuit in Ireland, riding 150 winners, before taking out an apprentice licence. He rode his first winner under rules on 9 December 2016 on Solar Heat at

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

. In January 2017 he moved to England to be an apprentice at the yard of Richard Hannon.

Career

Ryan finished second to Jason Watson in the 2018 British apprentice jockeys' championship. In August 2019 he achieved his first Group race success, winning the Group 2

Celebration Mile The Celebration Mile is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to ...

at Goodwood on Duke of Hazzard, trained by

Paul Cole Paul F. I. Cole (born 11 September 1941) is a British racehorse trainer. Since 1987 he has been based at Whatcombe Estate in Berkshire, the former stables of Dick Dawson and Arthur Budgett. He was British flat racing Champion Trainer in 19 ...

. In June 2020 he rode his first

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, about 25 miles west of London. Ascot is used for thoroughbred horse racing, and it hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 races and three Gra ...

winner on Highland Chief, trained by Paul and Oliver Cole, in the Golden Gates Handicap. The following month he accepted the offer of a retainer from owner

Kia Joorabchian Kiavash Joorabchian () is an Iranian-born British-educated businessman largely involved in association football. In the register of directorships at Companies House in London, Joorabchian gives two nationalities, Canadian and British, born on 14 ...

, who had horses in training with Hannon. Over the next two years he achieved five Group race victories for Joorabchian before they parted company in August 2022. Ryan rode more than a century of winners for the first time in 2021, in spite of having to take time off for a broken collar bone and surgery to remove his appendix. Two winners at Royal Ascot in June 2023 included Valiant Force, a 150/1 outsider in the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes, owned by Ryan's former employer Joorabchian. He claimed his first Group 1 victory in the 2023

July Cup The July Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 me ...

at Newmarket on Shaquille, trained by Julie Camacho. "That was the run of my life," he said after the race. He ended the season 3rd in the Jockeys' Championship with 104 winners at an 18% strike rate. Over the winter 2023-24, he won the British All-Weather Jockeys Championship with 85 victories, ahead of nearest challenger

Billy Loughnane Billy Loughnane (born March 2006) is an Irish jockey who is based in Britain and competes in flat racing. He was the 2023 British flat racing Champion Apprentice, twice British All-Weather Champion Apprentice (2022-23 and 2023-24), and British ...

on 59.

Major wins

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

July Cup The July Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 me ...

- (1) - ''Shaquille (2023)'' Ireland * Pretty Polly Stakes - (1) - '' Bluestocking (2024) ''

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe () is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris over a distance ...

- (1) - ''Bluestocking (2024) '' *

Prix Vermeille The Prix Vermeille is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles) ...

- (1) - ''Bluestocking (2024) '' United States *

Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint The Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint is a Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up. As its name implies, it is a part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the ''de facto'' year-end championship for North American ...

- (1) - '' Starlust (2024) ''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Rossa 2000 births Living people Irish jockeys Sportspeople from County Galway