Saffie Osborne’s origin story
Saffron Rose Osborne was born in Winchester and grew up in Lambourn, where her father, Jamie, trains. Jamie was a top National Hunt jockey who retired from race-riding in 1999, three years before Saffie was born, and has since trained at Group 1 level. Her mother, Katie O’Sullivan, is a respected equine artist. Saffie attended Cheam School and Bradfield College.
She started in eventing, where her highlights included individual and team gold at the 2018 European Pony Championships at Bishop Burton on Little Indian Feather, a former rescue pony from Ireland. After leaving school in 2019 she worked for four months at Aidan O’Brien’s yard in Ireland, then spent the winter at Randwick learning from Hall of Fame trainer Gai Waterhouse.
She turned to racing in 2020 and rode her first winner, Hot Scoop, for her father at Windsor on July 27 that year. A fall at Windsor in October left her with concussion, broken ribs and a broken arm.
Trainer Ed Walker became one of her most important supporters. Osborne won her first Group race for him on Random Harvest in the G3 Premio Elena e Sergio Cumani in Italy in October 2022, still as an apprentice, and rode out her claim with her 95th winner a month later. Her first full season as a professional in 2023 brought the Chester Cup on Metier and the G3 Valiant Stakes at Ascot on Random Harvest.
She returned to Australia in 2024 for a spell with Ciaron Maher and rode five winners there.
What are Saffie Osborne’s strengths as a jockey?
Saffie Osborne is a versatile rider whose winners range from the Dukhan Sprint in Qatar to the staying test of the Chester Cup and the St Leger at Doncaster, the longest of Britain’s five Classics. She was the Racing League’s leading jockey three years running from 2022 to 2024, a series that rewards riders who can win at a different track every week.
She grew up as an eventer, a discipline built on balance, patience and a feel for a horse’s rhythm, and won six medals at European pony, junior and youth championships before choosing racing. Her St Leger ride showed the finished product: handed the spare mount on the 11-1 shot Highwayman, she sent him to the front with two furlongs to run and held off the 5-2 second favourite Enceladus.
What is Saffie Osborne’s greatest achievement?
On September 12, 2026, Osborne became the first woman to ride a British Classic winner when Highwayman took the 250th St Leger at Doncaster, the oldest Classic in the world. Joseph O’Brien trained the first two home. Osborne had no ride in the race at the start of the week and picked up the spare mount as a reward for her season.
Hollie Doyle had come closest among British-based women, finishing fourth in the 2021 St Leger. Osborne’s own Classic record before this year was a single ride, eighth on Ed Walker’s Ten Bob Tony in the 2024 2000 Guineas, and she came within a length and a half of a first Group 1 when Touleen was second in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot in June. In August she captained Great Britain and Ireland to victory over Team Hong Kong in the Shergar Cup.
Which horse is Saffie Osborne most famous for riding?
Highwayman defines her career so far. Before him, Random Harvest gave her a first Group win and a first British Group success. Metier carried her to the 2022 November Handicap at Doncaster and the 2023 Chester Cup. Emaraaty Ana gave her the Dukhan Sprint in Qatar in 2024, and in 2025 she rode Heart Of Honor in both the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes in the United States.
Social media abuse pushback
In June 2021, aged 19, Osborne received a threatening message on social media. Her father posted it publicly, said the abuse had gone too far and contacted police, and the British Horseracing Authority condemned it. The episode became a flashpoint in racing’s debate over online abuse of jockeys, and Jamie Osborne pushed for a prosecution to set a deterrent.
Did you know?
Osborne returned in February 2024 after three months out with a knee injury and promptly became the first female jockey to ride a winner at Meydan in Dubai. She won the Dukhan Sprint in Qatar the next day.
When is Saffie Osborne riding in Hong Kong?
Osborne holds a visiting licence from November 8 to December 23, her first time riding in Hong Kong. She makes her debut at Sha Tin on November 8, Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse Day, a fixture headlined by the G3 Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse over 1800m, first staged in 1846.
She is eligible for the International Jockeys’ Championship at Happy Valley on December 9, the opening event of Longines Hong Kong International Races week, and follows Doyle as a British woman making her mark on the Hong Kong stage.
Maxime Guyon and Rossa Ryan arrive on December 2 and Dylan Browne McMonagle on November 22. “It’s a real honour to have been invited,” Osborne said when her licence was announced.
