Lee in line for top jockeys' prize at HRI awards
Champion Flat Jockey Billy Lee with his wife Catriona and their daughters Siofra and Breagh Photo: Lorraine O'Sullivan
Just days after he realised a lifetime ambition by being crowned Irish champion jockey, Billy Lee is one of five shortlisted for the Flat prize at 2026 Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) Awards.
Last Sunday at the Curragh, 40-year-old Lee became the oldest first-time winner of the Flat jockeys’ title since Tommy Murphy, who was 42 when crowned in 1978.
The Limerick man will have to beat off fierce competition to land the prestigious HRI award, most notably Aidan O’Brien, a man who has 28 Group 1 wins in 2026, equalling the record he set in 2017, anf one he may yet eclipse before the year is out.
Other contenders for the prize are last year’s champion jockey Dylan Browne-McMonagle, six-time champion jockey Colin Keane and Joseph O’Brien, who enjoyed a stunning season, highlighted by the Oaks success of Thundering On.
Ronan Whelan added his name to the Derby roll of honour when winning the Epsom Classic onboard Christmas Day in June and the Kildare man is one of seven in the running for the Flat Achievement Award alongside Paddy Harnett, Jessica Harrington, Wayne Lordan, Joey Sheridan, Donnacha O’Brien, and Fozzy Stack.
The Horse of the Year Award is a straight fight between Aidan O’Brien and Willie Mullins.
Irish Derby and Breeders’ Cup Turf victor Benvenuto Cellini, Ascot Gold Cup hero Scandinavia, and four-time Group 1 winner Sun Goddess represent Ballydoyle while Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Gaelic Warrior, dual Grand National winner I Am Maximus, Champion Chaser Il Etait Temps, and Champion Hurdle heroine Lossiemouth are the Closutton contenders.
Mullins is also in the running for the National Hunt Award alongside Gordon Elliott, Jack Kennedy, Darragh O’Keeffe, Paul Townend, and Mark Walsh.
One of Mullins’ many big-race triumphs in 2026 came in the Galway Plate where King Alexander landed the spoils in the hands of Daniel King in July.
A day later, King became the first jockey to win the Galway Plate and the Galway Hurdle in the same year since Joe Byrne completed the double courtesy of Master Player and Tara Lee back in 1984.
That double success has earned the Cork jockey a place on the shortlist for the National Hunt Achievement Award alongside Gavin Cromwell, Daniel King, Tony Martin, Emmet Mullins, Pádraig Roche, and Andy Slattery.
Racegoers and racing fans will be asked to help select the winners of the Racecourse of the Year Award and the Ride of the Year Award, and the nominees for those will be announced in the coming weeks.
The winners of the other awards will be decided by a ballot of the HRI Awards committee, made up of members of the Irish racing media and announced at a ceremony in Dublin on Monday, December 7.
HRI CEO Suzanne Eade said: “Looking at the nominees for the HRI Awards this year, it is striking the true depth of talent present in Irish racing. Our brilliant contenders hail from throughout the four provinces with 13 counties represented. The HRI Awards are a celebration of what makes our sport a genuine world leader and we are looking to another special occasion next month.” Flat Award: Dylan Browne-McMonagle, Colin Keane, Billy Lee, Aidan O’Brien, Joseph O’Brien.
National Hunt Award: Gordon Elliott, Jack Kennedy, Willie Mullins, Darragh O’Keeffe, Paul Townend, Mark Walsh.
Flat Achievement Award: Paddy Harnett, Jessica Harrington, Wayne Lordan, Joey Sheridan, Donnacha O’Brien, Fozzy Stack, Ronan Whelan.
National Hunt Achievement Award: Gavin Cromwell, Daniel King, Tony Martin, Emmet Mullins, Padraig Roche, Andy Slattery.
Emerging Talent Award: Sam Coen, Reese Holohan, Paddy Magee, Daniel McLoughlin, Alan O’Sullivan, Eoin Staples.
Point-to-Point Award: Shane Cotter, Sam Curling, Pat Doyle, Nicole Lockhead Anderson, Ian McCarthy, Derek O’Connor.
Horse of the Year Award: Benvenuto Cellini, Gaelic Warrior, I Am Maximus, Il Etait Temps, Lossiemouth, Scandinavia, Sun Goddess.
