Letterkenny’s Dylan Browne-McMonagle is on the cusp of being crowned champion jockey for the first time at the Curragh on Sunday week, November 2, the final day of the 2025 Irish Flat season.
He heads to Dundalk tomorrow evening with an eight-winner lead over six-time champion jockey Colin Keane who misses tomorrow evening’s action to ride at Newbury.
There is no Flat racing in Ireland on Saturday or Sunday, but both men could ride at Galway on Monday before heading to Del Mar later in the week for the Breeders’ Cup.
Browne McMonagle, champion apprentice in 2021 and again in 2022, brought his tally for the season to 95 with a winner at the Curragh on Tuesday, while Keane reached the 87 winner-mark with a single success at Navan on Wednesday.
The highlight of Dylan’s season in Ireland was his Group 1 Comer Group International Irish St Leger victory on the Joseph O’Brien-trained Al Riffa. He was a Group 2 winner on the same horse at the Curragh in July, and enjoyed multiple Group 3 wins throughout the year, winning on the likes of Goodie Two Shoes, Princess Child, Sons And Lovers and Wemightakedlongway.
Ben Coen has easily enjoyed his best season and heads to Dundalk with 65 winners to his name, making him a long odds-on favourite to take third place in the championship. Sharing fourth place in the table are Chris Hayes and Wayne Lordan on 59 winners.
The race to become champion apprentice will go down to the wire with just three winners covering the top four in the title race. Joint runner-up last season, Wayne Hassett (Tipperary) leads the way this time with 24 winners, one ahead of Robert Whearty (Meath), with Jack Cleary (Kildare) and Wesley Joyce (Limerick) hot on their heels with 22 and 21 winners respectively. All four jockeys have two rides each at Dundalk tomorrow evening.
Aidan O’Brien, who can count wins in the Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas, the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, the Juddmonte Irish Oaks and the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes among his haul for the season, is Ireland’s champion trainer for a remarkable 28th time while Mrs Sue Magnier is once again Ireland’s champion owner.
