Career profile of jockey Davy Russell following his retirement from the saddle on Sunday
Timeform profile Davy Russell following his retirement on Sunday, highlighting the best horses he rode and the big races he won in a glittering career.
Overview
Davy Russell initially rode as an amateur before crossing the Irish Sea to ride as a professional for Ferdy Murphy in 2002, though their formal arrangement would last little more than a year. Russell’s glittering career saw him crowned Irish champion jockey on three occasions (2011/12, 2012/13 and 2017/18), riding more than 100 domestic winners in four separate seasons.
He was the retained rider of the powerful Gigginstown House Stud operation for more than six years and continued to be widely used by them, winning back-to-back Grand Nationals on Tiger Roll.
Russell also has a Cheltenham Gold Cup victory to his name thanks to Lord Windermere and in 2019 won the French equivalent – the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris – aboard Carriacou. Russell also won at least one race at the Cheltenham Festival in all but one year between 2006 and 2020.
1990s
Russell initially rode as an amateur in point-to-points and won his first race under National Hunt Rules on Right’N’Royal at Gowran Park in May 1999, gaining a further eight victories before the end of the year.
2000s
Russell was used by several trainers during the early part of his career, including Noel Meade and Willie Mullins. He enjoyed his first success at a ‘festival’ meeting in the Grade 2 bumper at Aintree in April 2000, scoring aboard the Pat Fahy-trained Quadco, who was sent off at 33/1 but ran out an impressive 16-length winner.
Russell would have his first experience tackling Aintree’s ‘National’ fences aboard Ralph Smith’s Tuska Ridge in the 2001 Fox Hunters', though the pair parted company at Becher’s Brook. Less than a fortnight later, Russell returned to Britain for five mounts at Fakenham’s Easter Monday meeting and would ride a double for Smith.
In the autumn of 2002 Russell was offered the position as stable jockey to the Middleham-based trainer Ferdy Murphy. The 14-month partnership initially proved successful with stable star Truckers Tavern winning the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock early in 2003 and finishing runner-up to Best Mate in the Cheltenham Gold Cup a couple of months later. Russell was continuing to maintain his Irish links during this time, however, especially at weekends, and Murphy cited that as the main reason behind the split.
Russell’s career continued to go from strength to strength at home, partnering the John Kiely-trained Blazing Liss to four victories during the second half of the 2004/05 season, including twice in listed company, whilst further success was achieved across the Irish Sea, teaming up with Back In Front to win the Bula Hurdle at Cheltenham and landing the Topham Chase at Aintree aboard the 50/1 shot Cregg House.
Russell enjoyed a productive autumn during the 2005/06 season, teaming up with Charles Byrnes to win a trio of Grade 3 events, including with Powerstation, who positioned himself as one of the season’s leading staying novice hurdlers with his ‘Monksfield’ victory. Russell also registered a surprise Grade 1 victory arrived aboard The Railway Man in the Dr P. J. Moriarty Novice Chase in February, whilst a first victory at the Cheltenham Festival would follow, with Native Jack outsprinting the course specialist Spot Thedifference in the Cross-Country Chase.
Cailin Alainn had only opened her account at the fourth attempt in a Tramore maiden hurdle in April, though by the end of 2006 was a dual Grade 1-winning novice chaser under Russell’s guidance and also Ireland’s leading contender for the RSA Novices’ Chase. Ambitiously campaigned on her next start, she was in the process of running a big race in open company when falling at the third-last in the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham, and would also fail to complete in her Festival target, a race won by the mighty Denman. However, Russell wasn’t returning to Ireland empty-handed having driven the Ferdy Murphy-trained Joes Edge to a last-gasp victory in the William Hill Trophy. In April, Mansony would come from last to first in the Punchestown Champion Chase and a Galway Hurdle followed over the summer, the gambled-on Farmer Brown another confidently-ridden winner for Russell.
Gigginstown House Stud had emerged as a major player on the Irish National Hunt scene and Russell was invited to become their retained rider in September 2007, the partnership soon on target in graded company when Mossbank won the Clonmel Oil Chase. This would be the season in which Russell would ride a career-best 126 winners in Ireland, pushing the reigning champion Ruby Walsh all the way in the race to be top jockey for the season, also picking up a couple more Cheltenham Festival wins in big-field handicaps on a bumper final-day card, scoring aboard Naiad du Misselot (for Ferdy Murphy) in the Coral Cup and the Arthur Moore-trained Tiger Cry in the Grand Annual.
A ten-day absence, having damaged wrist ligaments in a fall at Fairyhouse over the Easter period, derailed Russell’s title bid, though he finished on a high with four victories at Punchestown, all for different trainers, teaming up with Solwhit for the first time when winning the Evening Herald Hurdle.
Russell would have to wait until Weapon’s Amnesty’s landed the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival to win a Grade 1 in the 2008/09 campaign, but he racked up a host of other graded-race victories after returning from injury in September, most notably on Solwhit in the Red Mills Hurdle. The five-year-old’s connections decided against having a crack at either the Champion or Stayers Hurdle, and their patience would be rewarded when Solwhit won at both Aintree and Punchestown later that spring.
2010s
Weapon’s Amnesty’s novice chasing campaign started somewhat inauspiciously. He jumped noticeably left when turned over at short odds at Punchestown in October 2009, and, whilst he filled the runner-up spot in a couple of Leopardstown Grade 1s, he arrived back at Cheltenham in March with just a small-field success at Newcastle to his name. The 2010 RSA Chase looked a high-quality renewal beforehand, containing the subsequent Gold Cup winner Long Run, but Weapon’s Amnesty took over entering the straight and sealed the deal with a bold leap at the final fence. Sadly it was later revealed that Weapon’s Amnesty had sustained a ligament injury during the race, which effectively ended his career.
After an underwhelming effort when only sixth in the Champion Hurdle, Solwhit entered the straight in the Punchestown equivalent with a clear advantage but was eventually worn down by Hurricane Fly, who would continue to prove his nemesis.
Russell would finish runner-up in the race to be Irish champion jockey for a fifth straight season in 2010/11, which was a campaign interrupted by several injuries – he missed the best part of two months over the summer with a broken ankle. However, he was fighting fit when completing a double on the second day of the Cheltenham Festival on First Lieutenant, who overhauled subsequent Champion Hurdle winner Rock on Ruby, and Carlito Brigante. Quito De La Roque capped a fine first season over fences with wins at both Aintree and Punchestown.
Quito De La Roque was dropped out and looked beaten for much of the race but ground out a victory in the JNwine.com Champion Chase at Down Royal in November 2011, though he missed the rest of the season after finishing third in the Lexus at Leoopardstown’s Christmas meeting and never developed into a genuine Gold Cup contender.
Sir Des Champs had won the previous season’s Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle and wasn’t extended when making a successful chasing debut at Fairyhouse in December. He would return to Cheltenham and provide Russell with his Festival victory for that season in the Jewson Novices’ Chase, this coming after a frustrating afternoon for the jockey the previous day as First Lieutenant was outstayed by Bobs Worth in the RSA and Edeymi finished a never-nearer second in the Fred Winter. Always handily placed, Sir Des Champs travelled strongly and jumped well, leading at the last before pulling clear in the final furlong. He was already favourite for the following season’s Gold Cup when completing a simple task at Punchestown to remain unbeaten over fences, capping off a season that saw Russell finally win the jockeys’ title in Ireland.
Despite his retainer with Gigginstown House Stud, Russell was still picking up plenty of outside rides, enjoying a profitable summer period aboard the Mick Winters-trained Rebel Fitz, the highlight coming when narrowly holding off a late charge from Cause Of Causes to win the Galway Hurdle. It would prove to be a second consecutive title-winning season for Russell at home, though he would have to wait one year longer before landing a Cheltenham Gold Cup as Sir Des Champs proved no match for Bobs Worth. Lord Windermere did win the RSA Chase, however, and would emulate Bobs Worth by landing the following season’s Gold Cup.
Russell rode Rogue Angel to victory in the opening race of Punchestown’s 2013 New Year’s Eve card, though was later informed "over a cup of tea" that he would no longer be retained by Gigginstown House Stud. Russell’s replacement was to be Bryan Cooper, but his season was brought to a premature conclusion with a broken leg on the second day of the Cheltenham Festival. As fate would have it, Russell picked up the winning rides on his former employer’s Tiger Roll in the Triumph Hurdle and Savello in the Grand Annual, bookending a card in which he won the Gold Cup on Lord Windermere. That Gold Cup victory was only confirmed after a lengthy stewards’ inquiry, Lord Windermere keeping the race despite drifting right in the latter stages and causing some interference to the runner-up On His Own.
Russell would have just five rides at the 2014/15 Cheltenham Festival, but things were looking rosy when the Dermot Weld-trained Windsor Park won the Neptune Novices’ Hurdle and Rivage d’Or then won the Cross-Country. However, Lord Windermere ran no sort of race in the Gold Cup and Russell lost the ride on him. The remainder of 2015 proved a frustrating period for Russell, who was absent for six weeks after suffering a broken arm later in March and was out for a further 12 weeks with a similar injury when unshipped in the parade ring before a maiden hurdle at Cork in August.
Russell rode 13 horses for ten different trainers at the 2016 Cheltenham Festival, landing big-field handicap hurdles with Diamond King for Gordon Elliott (Coral Cup) and Mall Dini (Pertemps Final) for Pat Kelly. Zabana had been bumped and unseated Russell at the shambolic start to the JLT Novices’ Chase but the combination made amends at Punchestown six weeks later.
Later in 2016, Dai Walters secured a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with Russell to ride his horses when available. Success followed with William Henry winning at Newbury on New Year’s Eve and Whisper staying on stoutly to land the Dipper at Cheltenham the following day. The latter would feature in what was perhaps the most dramatic race at that season’s Cheltenham Festival, edged out right at the death by the wayward-but-rallying Might Bite in the RSA. Russell nevertheless secured back-to-back Pertemps Finals a day later aboard Presenting Percy.
Russell was seen to fine effect aboard John Constable in the Swinton at Haydock in May 2017 and in another valuable handicap hurdle at Market Rasen in July, whilst the well-backed Balko Des Flos would give him a first Galway Plate. He would end the 2017/18 season as champion jockey in Ireland for a third time with 119 winners, landing Grade 1s aboard Death Duty, Apple’s Jade and Mick Jazz in December. He would also be crowned the leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival, highlights including Presenting Percy’s impressive win in the RSA, a third straight Pertemps Final with Delta Work and giving the race sponsors a long overdue victory in the Ryanair Chase on Balko Des Flos.
The Storyteller was a deserved winner of the Plate for Russell, though they did have luck on their side when winning the Champion Novice Chase at Punchestown. The Storyteller looked held in third when left in front at the last in bizarre circumstances after Al Boum Photo’s rider, Paul Townend, steered his mount to the right in an attempt to bypass the final fence, in doing so taking out the challenging Finian’s Oscar. In a season to remember for Russell, he renewed his partnership with the diminutive Tiger Roll and won the Grand National.
Gordon Elliott had gone close to wrestling the trainers’ championship from Willie Mullins in each of the previous two seasons and provided Russell with most of his victories in 2018/19. One of Elliott’s stars was Delta Work, whose sole defeat in a five-race novice chasing campaign was when a close third in the RSA.
It would be the first time since 2005 that Russell was without a winner at the Cheltenham Festival, but ample compensation soon followed thanks to Tiger Roll retaining his Grand National crown. Russell also picked up a winning ride on the former dual Champion Hurdle winner Buveur d’Air at Punchestown, and added another big prize to his CV when guiding home Carriacou in the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris at Auteuil.
2020s
The 2019/20 season was shortened after the outbreak of COVID-19, but not before Russell had added another three Cheltenham Festival wins to his tally, including aboard Envoi Allen, who was considered the banker of the week for many ahead of his Ballymore victory. Russell also won the Marsh Novices’ Chase with Samcro and the Grand Annual with Chosen Mate.
Russell was winning the Grand Annual for the third time in his career and it was his twenty-fifth victory at the Cheltenham Festival overall, placing him joint-fourth among the leading jockeys at the meeting since 1945, behind Ruby Walsh (59), Barry Geraghty (43) and A.P. McCoy (31), and alongside Pat Taaffe.
Russell was denied the opportunity to add to his tally at the 2021 Festival as he was still on the sidelines after dislocating and fracturing vertebrae in a first-fence fall in the Munster National at Limerick the previous October. In fact, it was nearly a year before Russell was passed fit to return to the saddle in September 2021, kicking off with a couple of rides at Downpatrick before Chemical Energy got his jockey back among the winners with a straightforward victory in a maiden hurdle at Navan.
It wasn’t long before Russell was riding big winners again in 2021/22, notably at Leopardstown where he won two of the most prestigious staying chases in the National Hunt calendar on two different horses trained by Elliott.
The range of skills Russell demonstrated in those two rides alone was really something to marvel at. His success aboard Galvin in the Savills Chase was just reward for the sheer persistence he showed, delivering his mount right on the line having been hard at work from some way out, whereas the winning ride aboard Conflated in the Irish Gold Cup owed plenty to the rider’s tactical nous, stealing a decisive advantage when kicking clear early in the straight having been close to the steady pace throughout.
Russell drew another blank on his final visit to the Cheltenham Festival in March, but it wasn’t for the want of trying. He filled the runner-up spot three times – including on Tiger Roll's swansong in the Cross Country Chase – before having to settle for fourth when teaming up with Galvin in his quest to win a second Gold Cup.
Still, there were a couple more big days in Russell yet, including at Aintree where he gained what would prove to be the final Grade 1 success of his career when Three Stripe Life won the Mersey Novices’ Hurdle.
The 43-year-old hadn’t lacked for winners this season, either, already having 26 on the board and sitting seventh in the Irish jump jockeys’ championship before the Elliott-trained Liberty Dance brought the curtain down on a glittering career with victory at Thurles on Sunday.
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