See our list of the top 10 sexiest male jockeys in the world including those still riding now and some who are now retired. We rank those across jumps and the flat including the likes of Oisin Murphy and Sam Thomas.
Top 10 Sexiest Male Jockeys
With some unbelievably talented jockeys in the weighing room over the years, we’re ranking in terms of sexiness according to studies and they’re in no particular order.
Also check out our list of the sexiest female jockeys here.
1. Sam Thomas
Sam Thomas is a retired Welsh National Hunt jockey who now trains his own horses. He had a fine career in the saddle and is most remembered for winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Denman in 2008.
He was once second jockey behind Ruby Walsh for Paul Nicholls but retired from riding in 2015.
Thomas now runs his own training yard in Lisvane, Wales and one his most notable wins since becoming a trainer is when he won the Welsh Grand National with Iwilldoit in 2021.
The 39-year-old has always been known for his good looks (wide right below) and ranks highly in our sexiest male jockeys list.
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2. Rossa Ryan
Rossa Ryan is rapidly becoming of the best flat jockeys in Britain right now and he recorded his first Group 1 success in the July Cup at Newmarket aboard Julie Camacho’s Shaquille in the summer of 2023. He eventually ended the season with 2014 winners at a strike rate of 18%, finishing 3rd in the Flat Jockeys’ Championship.
The Irishman is also the former retained rider of Amo Racing, but he and owner Kia Joorabchian parted ways in August 2022. Ryan has recorded multiple Group successes in the famous purple colours, including 150/1 shot Valiant Force at Royal Ascot in the 2023 Norfolk Stakes.
Being a popular figure amongst punters and in the weighing room, Rossa is well thought of for more than just his riding skills.
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3. Jack Kennedy
It’s fair to say that Jack Kennedy is one of the most successful National Hunt jockeys in recent years, earning him the right to be Gordon Elliott’s stable jockey.
The biggest win of his career so far came in the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup when guiding Minella Indo to glory for trainer Henry De Bromhead. He also led Delta Work to the Irish Gold Cup in 2020.
Kennedy ranks in third on our sexiest male jockeys list, whilst also winning a sexy amount of prize money in the last five seasons with €6,873,568 won on horses he’s ridden.
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4. Oisin Murphy
Oisin Murphy is widely regarded as one of the best flat jockeys around and was British Champion Flat Jockey three years on the bounce in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
During his globetrotting career, Murphy has recorded Group in eight countries, including France, Germany, UAE and the United States. This has led to him becoming one of the most recognisable figures in horse racing, all across the world.
Whilst he has been involved in controversy over the years, you cannot knock Murphy’s determination and passion for the sport and that’s why he remains one of the most popular jockeys amongst horse racing fans.
His partner is Lizzy Nielsen, daughter of the owner and breeder of Stradivarius, Bjorn Nielsen.
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5. Kevin Stott
Kevin Stott has won multiple Group 1 races on the flat and is certainly up there with the best in the business. He had to rank high on this list, purely due to the fact that he was once known to be dating Meg Nicholls – and that says it all.
Despite being so good in the saddle and riding some terrific horses over the years, Stott was another on this list who was once fired by Amo Racing after a disagreement with Joorabchian.
However, this has not hindered his chances of getting good rides and he remains popular amongst owners when it comes to jockey bookings.
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6. James Bowen
James Bowen is connected to the hugely successful Nicky Henderson stable, and is their second string jockey behind Nico de Boinville. He is never afraid to step in for the big rides when De Boinville is unavailable, and he is very talented.
Being the brother of another successful jockey in Sean Bowen, talent clearly runs in the family. James became the youngest ever Welsh Grand National-winning jockey in 2018 aboard Raz De Maree for Irish trainer Gavin Cromwell.
He would later become the youngest ever Champion Conditional Jockey, taking the record from his older brother Sean.
James is rising in the ranks and quickly becoming one of the most respected jockeys in his sphere, and he ranks sixth in the SportsLens sexiest male jockeys list.
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7. Frankie Dettori
The legendary Frankie Dettori just had to make this list. Given the illustrious career that the “pocket Italian” has had in the saddle, he remains one of the most well-known names in the sport.
With 287 Group 1 successes to his name, Dettori was both sexy on the racecourse and off. In October last year, he made a retirement u-turn, and announced he would be moving to California to continue racing in the US.
Whether you love him or not, Dettori is a legend of the sport and he simply could not be ignored in our sexiest jockeys list, for many reasons.
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8. Tom Marquand
Tom Marquand has been very successful on the flat for a number of years now with plenty of major wins on his ever-growing CV. One of his biggest in recent times was aboard the rapid Big Evs in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint in 2023 for Mick Appleby.
There are not many other jockeys that punters would rather have in an intense finish, with Marquand always giving horses he rides every chance of winning.
He and his fellow jockey wife Hollie Doyle are often known to ride internationally over the winter in countries such as Japan and UAE, with iconic duo great ambassadors for the sport.
Marquand ranks in this list in eighth and is one of Britain’s finest at his job.
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9. Paul Mulrennan
Paul Mulrennan has ridden almost 1500 winners in his career as of January 2024 and is popular amongst his fellow jockeys. Two of his most memorable victories were back-to-back Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes in 2015 and 2016 when he guided Mecca’s Angel to glory.
His best year was in 2022, when he reached new heights with 108 winners for the season. He is also the husband of ITV Racing analyst Adele Mulrennan.
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10. Harry Skelton
Harry Skelton is a British Jump Jockey well known for being his brother Dan’s stable jockey at their Warwickshire yard. He has won plenty of big races in the saddle over jumps, despite starting out on the flat.
Back in 2009, he became the youngest ever winner of the Irish Grand National on Niche Market, who was trained by Bob Buckler. This would set Harry up for a big career, and one of his finest moments was when he was crowned Champion Jump Jockey in 2020/2021.
Skelton had his best Cheltenham Festival in 2019, when he had three winners. He won the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Politologue, the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle on Roksana and the County Handicap Hurdle on Ch’tibello.
Being the husband of fellow jockey Bridget Andrews, Harry and his family are heavily involved in the sport.
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Honourable Mention: John Francome MBE
Whilst maybe not as his sexiest now at the grand age of 71, John Francome MBE was greatly thought of during his days in the saddle and he makes the ‘honourable mentions list’.
If this ‘sexy male jockeys top 10’ was compiled in the 1980’s, then Mr Francome would have certainly put been towards the top of the pile.
During his riding days JF, who was also champion jumps jockey seven times, rode winners in most of the top races – including at the Cheltenham Festival in the Champion Hurdle, Stayers’ Hurdle and Gold Cup in 1978 on Midnight Court, plus also landed the King George VI Chase at Kempton in 1982 on Wayward Lad and in 1984 on Burrough Hill Lad (watch below).
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