Irish-based jockeys to watch on the Flat in 2025

The new turf season on the Flat is now getting into full swing, with Classic trials aplenty taking place and the Guineas Festival at Newmarket looming large on the horizon.

Irish jockeys will be hoping to shine both at home and abroad in the months to come, with the likes of Epsom, Royal Ascot, Newmarket, Glorious Goodwood and more joining the big Irish meetings at the Curragh, Leopardstown and Galway.

We're taking a look at five Irish-based riders worth watching out for in 2025.

Colin Keane

The only place to start. Colin Keane has been champion jockey in Ireland for the last five years and is a supremely talented pilot, with six championship wins on his CV already.

The Co Meath native has won three Irish Classics alongside Group 1s in Britain, France and America. He links up strongly with the Ger Lyons yard, but is no stranger to riding winners for Michael O'Callaghan, Noel Meade and even Willie Mullins when the Closutton chief has runners on the Flat.

It's mildly surprising that Keane doesn't get more outside rides when he travels to Britain for big festivals and the 30-year-old may still harbour ambitions of landing a major retainer job.

Dylan McMonagle

The name of Dylan McMonagle has been around since he won the Dingle Derby as a 12-year-old in 2015, a record at that time, while he went on to enjoy 218 winners on the pony racing circuit.

As a teenager he was mentored by AP McCoy and spent time at the British Racing School. The former champion apprentice is now based with Joseph O'Brien's yard in Piltown and he's one of the brightest prospects in Ireland at just 22 years of age.

He will go on to bigger and better things in the future, that seems a certainty, and he's in the right place to further his education and hone his skills.

Luke McAteer

Luke McAteer hones his skills in the saddle as an apprentice under the watchful eye of Jim Bolger, but the Donegal native is now getting more and more rides elsewhere, including a blossoming and fruitful partnership with David Marnane.

The Donegal native has not yet turned 25 and is becoming a reliable force in the Irish weighing room.

Only Keane and Declan McDonogh managed more winners around Dundalk over the winter months and, after a career-best tally in that sphere, he'll be aiming to achieve something similar back on the turf.

Billy Lee

Billy Lee is another rock of Ireland's weighing room and he's unfortunate not to have a jockeys' crown on his CV.

The Limerick native is a safe and reliable pair of hands with multiple Group 1 successes on his record and he showed his versatility recently when winning a Graded bumper at Aintree's Grand National Festival for Paddy Twomey.

The pair have also landed early season gains with the likes of Bubble Gum and One Look and they should be in line for a big summer ahead.

Shane Foley

Shane Foley is a long-standing member of the Irish weighing room, serving his time with the likes of Mick Halford and Adrian Keatley before taking his current post as Jessica Harrington's number one rider for the 2019 Flat season.

He is a classy and cool rider and a man for the big occasion. He didn't have as many winners numerically as the likes of Keane, Lee and McMonagle in 2024, but he banked almost €2m in prize money, testament to the fact that he rides well on big days.