Top riders to take part in Ladbrokes Irish Jockeys Sprint Championship at Punchestown
Charity event to aid the Irish Jockeys Injury Fund
While all the focus will be on the race track with the top jockey and horses over the five-day Punchestown Festival, a very novel event will be held on Wednesday at the Festival.
The inaugural Irish Ladbrokes Jockey Sprint Cup will be held before the first race, featuring a stellar line-up including Patrick Mullins, Danny Mullins, Darragh O’Keefe, Brian Hayes, and Aine O’Connor to name but a few.
Ladbrokes hosted the first ever UK Jockey Sprint at Ayr in September 2025 and since then Irish jockeys have been clamouring for their own edition to crown the fastest jumps jockey at a fitting Irish jumps course.
Jockeys were encouraged to join the race with Ladbrokes pledging €250 per jockey running to be donated to the Irish Injured Jockeys.
Nicola McGeady of Ladbrokes commented: “We’ve all seen how fast these jockeys can go on horseback, but just how fast can they go on their own two legs across 200m? This cup would definitely hold pride of place in any jockey’s trophy cabinet and for a very worthy cause too.”
Janet Creighton, of Punchestown commented: “With €250 charity donation per athlete on the table it truly is a case of taking part that counts although knowing some of the jockeys in the lineup it’s as much about winning on horseback or on foot! Thank you to them and of course to Ladbrokes for this engaging initiative for a great cause.”