Jimmy Quinn

Jimmy Quinn was born on 20 May 1967 in Rochestown, New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland. He moved to England as an apprentice jockey in 1984, initially with Pat Rohan at Malton, and then with Newmarket trainers Eric Eldin, Alan Bailey and Hugh Collingridge. 

He had his first ride at Doncaster in 1984. His first winner was 9/1 chance Tarleton, owned and trained by Pat Rohan, in the Ravenspark Selling Handicap at Ayr on March 25, 1985.

His apprenticeship at an end, he continued to ride for Collingridge in addition to various other trainers.  He recorded his first major success for William Haggas aboard High Low in the 1992 Lincoln Handicap. That was followed a few weeks later by victory in the Chester Cup on Welshman for trainer Michael Blanshard. He won the Chester Cup for a second time in 1996 on the Paul Cole-trained Merit. In 1998 he landed another valuable success in the John Smith's Cup on Sir Henry Cecil’s Porto Foricos.

He was offered the position of stable jockey to Hong Kong trainer Brian Kan for the 1999-2000 season, but Kan ended the partnership before the end of the season. Jimmy continued to ride there as a freelance there, winning a total of 24 races, including the first race of the new millennium anywhere in the world. He also won a race at Britain’s first ever Sunday meeting at Doncaster.

Jimmy’s most successful season in terms of winners came in 2002, when he had 101 victories. During the first decade of the new millennium he achieved big race successes for a variety of trainers including Clive Brittain, John Quinn, Chris Dwyer, Mark Tompkins, Peter Chaple-Hyam, David Barron, John Dunlop and Julia Fielden. 

Major victories included the Portland Handicap on Fantasy Believer (run that year at York); a second Lincoln Handicap and a Brigadier Gerard Stakes on the Mark Tompkins-trained Smokey Oakey for owner Judi Dench; a pair of Group 3 races (Sandown’s Classic Trial and Chester’s Dee Stakes) on African Drean; with the highlight of his career coming on Kingsgate Native in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Strakes at York on 23 August 2007.  

Having made his name as a lightweight jockey and won several major handicaps, by August 2019 Jimmy had had over 17,000 British rides, including more than a dozen Group and Listed wins. In addition to his stint in Hong Kong, he also had successful spells riding in Bahrain and Germany. 

The first five Group race wins of his career were all gained in Germany, initiated by the Group 2 Grosser Muller Brot-Preis, latterly called the Bavarian Classic. In Turkey in 2017 he won the Anatolia Trophy, a local Group 2 but not recognised as a Pattern race internationally, on Leshlaa.

He announced his intention to retire, aged 57, on the first day of Newmarket’s Craven meeting in April 2024 but then altered his plans and decided to continue until the end of the turf season. Many thought he would call it a day after recording his first winner of the season aboard Lost In Time at Yarmouth in October but he elected to stick to his plan.

Jimmy rode his final winner on the six-year-old Adace for trainer Dean Ivory in a 7f handicap at Kempton Park on Wednesday evening, 30 October, giving his mount the perfect ride, running on well in the closing stages to win by three quarters of a length from Marchetti.

He had his last ride on 40/1 outsider Dark Moon Rising for Kevin Ryan in the last turf race if the turf season, the November Handicap at Doncaster, on November 9, 2024, finishing 21st of the 23 runners.

He ended his career having won a total of 1,616 races in Britain. 

Major British wins include:

1992: Lincoln Handicap – High Low

1992: Chester Cup – Welshman

1995: John Musker Fillies’ Stakes – Poppy Carew 

1996: Chester Cup – Merit 

1998: Virginia Fillies’ Stakes – Light Step 

1998: Conqueror Fillies’ Stakes – Digitalize  

1998: John Smith’s Cup – Porto Foricos

2002: Achilles Stakes – The Trader

2003: Tote International Handicap – New Seeker 

2004: Sandown Classic Trial – Africa Dream

2004: Dee Stakes – African Dream

2004: Virginia Rates Stakes (Yarmouth) – Posteritas 

2004: Starlit Stakes (Goodwood) – Var 

2006: Portland Handicap – Fantasy Believer 

2006: Rous Sakes – Fantasy Believer 

2007: Cammidge Trophy – Rising Shadow

2007: totesport International Handicap – Third Set  

2007: totesport Mile – Third Set 

2007: Nunthorpe Stakes – Kingsgate Native 

2008: Lincoln Handicap – Smokey Oakey  

2008: Brigadier Gerard Stakes – Smokey Oakey 

2008: Alice Keppel Stakes – Crystal Capella

2008: Hambleton Handicap – Mia’s Boy

2008: Firth of Clyde Stakes – Aspen Darlin

2010: Grand Cup (York) – Tactic 

2010: Sunbury Stakes – Spirit Of Sharjah 

2019: Grey Horse Handicap – Case Key 

In Germany

2001: Scherping Rennen – Triumphant Master

2001: Grosser Muller Brot-Preis (Group 2) – Zollner 

2001: Hessen-Pokal (Group 3) – Zollner  

2001: Restaurant Le Table Sterne Rennen Dortmunder Fliegerpreis – Call Me Big 

2001: Grosser Preis der Deutschen Buchmacher Nereide Rennen – Lizzey Letti 

2002: Badener Meile (Group 3) – Touch Down 

2003: Holsten-Trophy (Group 3) – Capricho 

2003: Hessen-Pokal (Group 3) – Picotee A Bolte 

2012: Bavaria-Preis – Why Not

In Turkey

2017: Anatolia Trophy - Leshlaa