Jonathan Burke is a talented Irish jockey with over 200 careers wins to his name. As 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
Looking ahead to the National Hunt season with Jonathan Burke
Looking ahead to the National Hunt season with Jonathan Burke
How have things been going since we last spoke, Johnny?
Things are going well and it's very busy at the moment getting all the horses ready for the new season. The last couple of weeks we've been working them and travelling around the country, bringing them to Warwick for schooling and stuff like that.
How was your summer settling into the new stable and what would you say has been the highlight?
The summer was good, probably the busiest one I've had because in the past I wouldn't have had trainers to ride for but now having the job with Fergal, he's always busy enough in the summer.
The highlight for me would have been winning the Summer Hurdle on Castel Gandolfo. There's not many big prizes on the jumps calendar in the summer and the Summer Hurdle is one of the main ones, so to be able to win that was massive. And it came at the right time, just to kind of cement the new job with Fergal.
It's been a really good summer compared to previous years, so I feel like I'm in a great spot.
Ahead of the new National Hunt season who are you most looking forward to riding?
Looking ahead to the new National Hunt season I'm excited because there are obviously a fair few horses in Fergal's stable that are in great shape. There are over 100 horses in training so I'm very lucky to have that to go out.
The obvious ones that spring to mind would be Dysart Enos and she's been named for the Greatwood Hurdle at the Cheltenham November meeting. She'll be the most high profile one I ride so I'm really looking forward to that.
Of the bumper horses from last year, Tripoli Flyer would be another one I've got high hopes for. He was second at the Aintree Festival last year.
And are there any lesser known horses we should keep an eye out for?
Of the more unknown ones, there's a horse called Espresso Milan who will run in the Bumper quite soon and looks a real prospect.
Ryan's Rocket is another and he should have a good season. He was minded last season but he may well develop into a regular Saturday horse.
