Top Jockeys to Watch at the Irish Derby Festival This Weekend The Irish Derby Festival at the Curragh runs from Friday evening through until Sunday, with the Derby itself taking place on Sunday afternoon. Three days of top class action are in store at the home of Irish Flat racing and we're picking out four jockeys that may be worth keeping close tabs on over the weekend. William Hill Betting Offer If you already have a William Hill account, check out more of the best betting sites and casino bonuses Ryan Moore The only place to start essentially, Moore is stable jockey for Aidan O'Brien and his weekend will be littered with major opportunities to add to his five-year tally of 102 winners at the Curragh. Those wins have come from just 312 mounts, affording Moore a stunning 32 per cent strike-rate at this course. Moore can look forward to partnering the likes of Whirl in the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes on Saturday and Epsom hero Lambourn in the Irish Derby as he seeks a Classic double having scored under Wayne Lordan earlier in the month. Moore is up on his curve so far this season, with 11 winners from 29 Curragh rides giving him a handsome strike-rate of almost 38 per-cent heading into the Irish Derby meeting. Colin Keane Ireland's six-time champion jockey, Keane is still getting used to his new role as retained rider for the powerful Juddmonte operation. It's a job he richly deserved and should see him achieving the international success his talent deserves. He's already up and running with Field Of Gold's success at Royal Ascot. Keane has 87 winners at the Curragh across the last five seasons and will continue to shine with Ger Lyons' support amongst others. The unbeaten Lady Iman awaits in the Airlie Stud Stakes on Saturday for Lyons, while he rides Kalpana for Andrew Balding in the Juddmonte silks in the Pretty Polly Stakes. Billy Lee The irrepressible Billy Lee continues to thrive and is enjoying another fine season on the home front, powered by his strong alliance with the excellent Paddy Twomey operation. The Cork native has ridden 64 winners at the Curragh over the last five seasons and will eye more success this weekend in a strong book of rides set to include Skydance in the Airlie Stud Stakes, Deepone in the Dubai International Stakes In Honour Of Kevin Prendergast and the class-jumper Magical Hope in the Pretty Polly all on Saturday. Lee boasts an incredible level stakes profit of +141.00 from over 500 rides on the Curragh since 2020 and is already in front this season once more for punters that are following him. Dylan Browne McMonagle The rise of Dylan Browne McMonagle was long touted, ever since the Letterkenny rider shattered records on the pony-riding circuit in his early teens. He is now fully immersed in the Joseph O'Brien operation and is a fully fledged Group 1-winning rider, with the experience and calm head to match his prodigious talents. He has mastered the Curragh 43 times in the last five seasons, and more success surely awaits. He partners Artista, Trustyourinstinct and Wemightakedlongway in Saturday's trio of Group races and has Epsom third Tennessee Stud to look forward to on Sunday as he seeks a first Irish Derby winner.
