2021 Flat jockeys' championship: the leading contenders on their title chances

Last Saturday Harry Skelton was crowned champion jump jockey after a long tussle with Brian Hughes and now the Flat battle gets under way, and it could be just as exciting.

After a pandemic-affected title chase last year, the race returns to its 2,000 Guineas day to Champions Day format this time, with Oisin Murphy hoping to finish top of the table for the third season in a row.

Dual runner-up William Buick is his main rival according to the bookmakers, who reckon that Ben Curtis, Hollie Doyle and Tom Marquand are all serious contenders.

The contenders

Oisin Murphy
Last year: WON

Oisin Murphy: 'It would be very special if I could win the championship for a third time'Credit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Oisin Murphy is the only one of the main contenders to have won the championship before and he is unlikely to give up the crown lightly.

After running away with the title in 2019, he held William Buick off by just eight winners last season, when he rode winners for more than 40 different trainers.

Murphy told Great British Racing: "It would be very special if I could win the championship for a third time. I've worked very hard ever since I got my apprentice licence and I'm fortunate to ride for a lot of great people.

"That's been good enough for the last two years and hopefully it will be good enough again. It's a long, tiring season but riding good horses keeps you going and I'll certainly be doing my best."

William Buick
Last year: Second

William Buick: 'It's not easy and that's why it's so sought after'Credit: Edward Whitaker

If anyone is due to be champion it is William Buick, who was third in the title race in 2012 and runner-up in 2015 and again last year.

He had a better strike-rate than anyone bar Frankie Dettori in the top 50 last season and the successful start to the campaign made by Charlie Appleby, his main trainer, bodes well for his chances.

Buick said: "It's no secret that it's a big ambition of mine and I'll be giving it my best shot this year. I've come close a couple of times, without quite threatening, but I've never before put my heart and soul into chasing it as much as you need to.

"Last year I learned a lot chasing Oisin and I've hopefully taken a lot of positives out of the experience. You need a lot of firepower, you need a lot of support, and you need to stay focused and keep making the right decisions. It's not easy and that's why it's so sought after."

Tom Marquand
Last year: Third

Tom Marquand: 'I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in and hoping I can get off to a flier'Credit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Last year was a breakthrough season for Tom Marquand, who won his first Group 1 race and his first Classic.

Third place in the 2020 championship, with William Haggas his biggest source of winners, was a personal best and there is no reason to believe he has stopped progressing.

Fresh from another Group 1 win in Australia, he said: "I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in and hoping I can get off to a flyer, as that's what I'll need for the championship.

"William has been my biggest supporter for the last year and a half or so, and he's got an extremely powerful team, and Tony Carroll has provided me with 15 to 20 winners every single year. I'm also lucky to have a really wide base of support beyond them though."

Hollie Doyle
Last year: Fourth

Hollie Doyle: 'It's going to be tough for someone like me to win it but I give it 100 per cent'Credit: Pool (Getty Images)

Grand National heroine Rachael Blackmore, who pushed Paul Townend all the way in Ireland's jump jockeys' championship, has shown there is no bar to what women can achieve and Hollie Doyle is the Blackmore of the British Flat.

A five-timer at Windsor last August helped her finish third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and another at Kempton this March signalled she could be a force to be reckoned with in the 2021 title race.

"It's going to be tough for someone like me to win it but I give it 100 per cent every year," she said. "I try my hardest and it's just whether I'm in a position to go for it.

"I've made a great start this year and through the pre-championship months I think I'm ahead of last year’s schedule, so I've just got to keep it up."

Ben Curtis
Last year: Fifth

Ben Curtis: 'It's great to be asked to jump on board a lot more for Mark Johnston this year and hopefully they can contribute to that big number I'm going to need for the title'Credit: Patrick McCann

Nobody rode more Flat winners from January 1 to December 31 last year than Ben Curtis, whose total of 170 was 19 clear of his nearest rival, and his increased tie-up with prolific trainer Mark Johnston encourages hope he might come out on top between May 1 and October 16 in 2020.

He said: "Last year I had only a small and select set of rides for Mark Johnston but we had a good strike-rate and it ended up very fruitful. It's great to be asked to jump on board a lot more for him this year and hopefully they can contribute to that big number I'm going to need for the title, whether it's this year or next."

Recent champions

2011 Paul Hanagan
2012 Richard Hughes
2013 Richard Hughes
2014 Richard Hughes
2015 Silvestre de Sousa
2016 Jim Crowley
2017 Silvestre de Sousa
2018 Silvestre de Sousa
2019 Oisin Murphy
2020 Oisin Murphy

Paddy Power:9-4 William Buick, Oisin Murphy, 7-2 Hollie Doyle, 9-2 Ben Curtis, Tom Marquand, 16 Silvestre de Sousa, 25 James Doyle, 33 Ryan Moore, 66 Daniel Tudhope, 80 Andrea Atzeni, Jim Crowley, Cieren Fallon, Kevin Stott, 100 Frankie Dettori

If you want more on the Flat season:

2021 Qipco 2,000 Guineas: the runners, the odds, the verdict

Star horses, big races and key dates: your guide to the 2021 Flat season

2021 Qipco 1,000 Guineas: confirmed runners and riders for Sunday's big race

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