Find out everything you need to know about Paul Townend's racing record, including all his success at Cheltenham, and where you can bet on his next race.
Betway ambassador Paul Townend is a renowned Irish jockey who competes in National Hunt racing. A seven-time Irish jump racing Champion Jockey and four-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, he has performed exceptionally in recent years and is looking to build on his great record.
An introduction to Paul Townend
Hailing from County Cork, Paul Townend became the top jockey for Willie Mullins’ yard in 2019 after Ruby Walsh’s retirement. In recent years he’s enjoyed a staggering amount of success in both UK and Irish races.
Key horses ridden by Paul Townend
As you would expect from such a prestigious career, Paul Townend has ridden many of the top horses in racing. A few of these are as follows:
Galopin Des Champs
Townend and Galopin Des Champs partnered to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice, in 2023 and 2024, and have also taken home the last three – 2023, 2024, and 2025 – Irish Gold Cups.
Al Boum Photo
Partnered in 2019 and 2020, Townend and Al Boum Photo took home back-to-back Cheltenham Gold Cups.
I Am Maximus
Townend won the Irish Grand National in 2023 riding I am Maximus, then the Aintree Grand National in 2024.
Which trainer does Paul Townend most commonly work with?
Townend has ridden primarily with Willie Mullins since 2005, and was appointed as top jockey in the Mullins yard in 2019 after Ruby Walsh’s retirement. Although Townend has occasionally ridden for other trainers, his longstanding partnership with Mullins is one of several key factors in his continuing success.
What is Paul Townend’s race record?
First things first, we’ll point out that because Paul Townend is still actively racing, the numbers included here are bound to vary as time passes. With that said, Townend already has more than 7,000 rides under his belt. Of those, he’s won more than 1,500 of them. That makes for a win rate of more than 21 per cent. But, if you focus on his last five seasons, this figure rises to around the 35 per cent mark, which is an exceptional record.
If you bring together the number of times Townend has come first and placed in races, he has finished successfully (i.e. 1st or placed) around 46 per cent of the time in his career, too.
In his past several seasons, however, he has placed (on average) between 60 and 70 per cent of the time. It’s strong evidence that Townend is showing no signs of slowing down, and he is consistently finishing well even when missing out on first place.
With an aggressive run style, he led in more than 60 per cent of his wins – a strong front running bias, in other words!
How many winners has Paul Townend had?
In a career spanning close to two decades, Paul Townend has ridden in thousands of races and notched up hundreds of wins. Of these, 150+ are Grade 1 wins, with many of these taking place in his native Ireland. We’ll break down some of Townend’s major wins, in both Ireland and the UK, in more detail below.
What are Paul Townend’s major wins?
Townend has enjoyed plenty of success over the course of his almost twenty-year career, with major wins either side of the Irish Sea. Here are a few of his most notable achievements in that time:
Cheltenham Festival
Let’s kick off with Townend’s most noteworthy Cheltenham wins…
Gold Cup: Townend has racked up four Gold Cup wins – 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024 – on two different horses in the last several years, missing out in 2021, 2022, and 2025 (finishing second place in the latter of these).
Champion Hurdle: Riding State Man, the same horse that he took a nasty fall from in 2025’s edition of the Champion Hurdle, Townend took first place in this prestigious 2024 race.
Stayers’ Hurdle: Worth highlighting as Townend’s first big Cheltenham victory, he won here in 2018 riding Penhill.
Other events
How about some of Paul Townend’s best performances elsewhere?
Grand National: Paul Townend won the prestigious Aintree Grand National in 2024 atop I Am Maximus.
King George VI Chase: Riding Bainbridge, Townend took first place at Kempton Park for the King George VI Boxing Day Chase, in 2024.
Irish Gold Cup: Riding Galopin Des Champs, Townend has won Gold Cups in Leopardstown in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Irish Grand National: Townend took the gold here in 2023 on the back of I am Maximus.
Punchestown Gold Cup: After notching up a Gold Cup victory on Allaho in 2022, Townend won again with Galopin Des Champs in 2025.
How to bet on Paul Townend this season?
If you plan to bet on horse racing this season, Paul Townend’s continued success makes him a difficult man to count out. You can bet on his next races, including the Cheltenham Festival, right here at Betway.
