Johnny Burke is a talented Irish jockey with multiple Grade 1 wins to his name. CopyBet’s brand ambassador he provides customers with insights from the world of horse racing. Follow @JohnnyBurke2 on X and read his thoughts at Betting Tips Today
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A big year ahead with Johnny Burke
We last caught up with you at Ascot towards the end of November last year where you enjoyed a fantastic meet, riding three winners. How have things been going since then?
Yeah things have been going well, very good. I finished off the year with a nice win on Crambo at Ascot in the Long Walk Hurdle. It was great to round things off with a victory on him and also partly to cement his win in the race the year before and sort of prove that it wasn't a fluke. Crambo is an important horse for myself and Fergal (O'Brien).
Speaking of Fergal O'Brien, how's life in his stable?
I've had plenty of winners which has obviously been fantastic. I clocked up my 50th winner yesterday, of which 25 of them have been for Fergal. So I'm actually a little surprised and pleased at how many outside winners I've been riding as well.
We're into another new year, is there anything that you're doing differently for 2025?
Not particularly. Just trying to stay injury free and to keep finding those better horses. Like I said, I've been very fortunate with the rides that I've been getting outside of Fergal's stable and that's important for me to keep as many contacts as possible.
63 winners in a year has been my best ever result in England. So my ambition is to try and beat that if I can.
When does your attention start to turn to the Cheltenham Festival?
As a jockey, once you're through January you inevitably start to think about Cheltenham. There are still plenty of good Saturday races to be had between now and then of course, and one for me that I know for definite is Dysart Enos is going to go in the Kingwell Hurdle in two weeks time, so that's something to look forward to.
But yeah, January can be a tricky month with bad weather and abandonments, so once that's out the way your focus does start to switch to finding rides for Cheltenham.
And who can we expect to see you in action on at Cheltenham?
These next three to four weeks are deciding runs for a lot of horses ahead of the festival. Crambo will definitely run in the Stayers Hurdle. Dysart Enos I'd imagine will be lined up for one at the festival and then Tripoli Flyer runs on Sunday at Musselburgh in the Supreme Novice's Trial, so depending on how that goes he might feature at the festival too. Those would be my main three for Fergal.
