Ryan Moore

What are Ryan Moore’s strengths as a jockey?

It is often said that the best jockeys are those that make less mistakes than their peers. If that is the case, then Moore certainly fits the mould. Among his greatest strengths is his unflappability before and during a race, no matter how big that race is; that coolness enables him to see things happening around him and make split-second judgements about the pace of a race, or the spot he wants to be in or out of. His tactical nous is second to none, as is his sense of timing, and to top it off he has always been able to execute a strong drive in a finish.

Ryan Moore’s Origin Story

Ryan Moore comes from a family of Sussex horsemen and women. His grandfather Charlie Moore was a used car dealer, but also a racehorse trainer, as is his father, former jump jockey Gary Moore; his brothers, Jamie and Josh are retired jump jockeys, and his sister Hayley was a good amateur jockey; his aunt, Candy Morris, was also a successful amateur jockey.

Moore started riding at age four, and was riding out on his father’s gallops at age 12; his first career win was for his dad, riding Mersey Beat in a hurdle race at Towcester on May 15, 2000. He soon shifted his focus to flat racing and in tandem with the powerful Richard Hannon stable he was champion apprentice in 2003.

He really made his name as a big-race jockey when he moved to Sir Michael Stoute in Newmarket, and won the first of his three champion jockey titles in 2006, the year he also won his first Group 1 race when he steered Notnowcato to victory in the Juddmonte International Stakes at York.

What is Ryan Moore’s greatest achievement?

Moore is an incredibly high achiever when you look at his long list of major wins around the world, but his greatest achievement has been maintaining his position as the number one rider at Aidan O’Brien’s all-conquering Ballydoyle stable since late 2011. Only a supremely talented jockey can fill that role, and it takes an exceptional one to hold the reins for such a long period of time.  

Which horse is Ryan Moore most famous for riding?

Moore hasn’t had a standout flagbearer, a genuine multi-season champion, like Johnny Murtagh had at Ballydoyle with the great Yeats. He did ride Ed Dunlop’s globetrotting mare Snow Fairy on most of her biggest days, and his wins in tandem with her in Britain, Ireland, Hong Kong and Japan certainly advanced his career as a rider of international renown, but the high profile of City Of Troy through 2024 makes him the most famous Moore mount. The Aidan O’Brien-trained colt won the Derby, Eclipse Stakes, and Juddmonte International Stakes in Britain that year and was famously defeated when attempting dirt racing in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at the year’s end. 

If Ryan Moore was a sporting franchise what would it be?

Ryan Moore is like the German soccer giant Bayern Munich. He is the ultimate professional, entirely focused upon his task as he goes about his business of winning major races with unerring consistency and level-headed confidence. He is unfazed by any challenge he is presented with, shuns hyperbole, and maintains a cool public-facing persona rooted in no-nonsense pragmatism.  

Did you know?

Ryan Moore was once asked by the Financial Times what his biggest extravagance was, and he answered that it was having “four children, I’d say.”

What is Ryan Moore’s most memorable ride?

Social media went wild for Moore’s ride on Auguste Rodin in the 2023 G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf, in which he snuck up the inside rail to win. But, among the many impressive big-race rides, the most enduring memory is surely his second Group 1 win, the 2007 Eclipse Stakes at Sandown on Notnowcato. His mount was a 7/1 shot against the odds-on favourite Authorized, that year’s Derby winner. Moore executed a brave tactical move on the rain-softened going, angling his horse across to the far outside rail to find better ground in the home straight to produce a famous upset.