Saffie Osborne, the 24-year-old jockey, is in exceptional form as she prepares for Royal Ascot, the highlight of the Flat racing season. Since the 2026 Flat jockeys' championship began in early May, she has secured 22 wins from 132 rides, placing her fifth in the title race. Her success rate has outpaced former champions Ryan Moore and William Buick combined, and punters backing her since Guineas weekend have seen a 45-point profit.
Osborne's Season So Far
Reflecting on her season, Osborne said: "I've been loving it. I kicked off the season with three winners on Guineas weekend, and had lots of winners through May at the big festivals, and at nice tracks, a nice quality of horses and stakes winners too."
However, she remains mindful of the sport's unpredictability, having endured only one injury-free season since her debut as an 18-year-old apprentice in July 2020. Just weeks after her first win, a fall at Windsor left her with a broken arm, dislocated wrist, and punctured lung, sidelining her for five months.
Aiming for Royal Ascot Success
Royal Ascot has been a challenging meeting for Osborne, with 34 rides but no winners yet. "If that was a strike rate at any other track, you'd think: 'God, that's awful,'" she said. "But we all know how hard it is to ride winners there and Ascot's actually been a really lucky place for me. I've had lots of winners there but haven't managed to ride a Royal Ascot winner and that's just the level of competition."
Osborne grew up understanding Royal Ascot's significance. Her father, Jamie, a former jump jockey turned trainer, trained Royal Ascot winners, inspiring her ambition. "As a jockey, all you want to do is ride Royal Ascot winners," she added.
Key Rides at Royal Ascot
Osborne identified Gold Digger, a filly trained by Richard Spencer and owned by Phil Cunningham, as her best chance in the Palace of Holyroodhouse Handicap on Friday. "She's so talented. She looks like she could be a Group horse in a handicap and hopefully she can go and show that next week," she said.
She will also ride Touleen in the Group One Coronation Stakes on Friday, describing her as "a really lovely filly and I don't think we've seen the best of her yet." Additionally, she will partner her father's horse, Hickory, in either the Royal Hunt Cup or the Buckingham Palace Stakes.
"We love Hickory and Hickory loves Ascot," she noted. "Punters probably hate him because he has to be dropped on the line and ridden pretty cold, but he's a really cool horse."
Background and Family
Osborne's career choice might seem inevitable given her parents: her father is a jockey-turned-trainer, and her mother, Katie O'Sullivan, is a renowned equine artist. She admitted: "I probably wasn't very obedient at school because I was constantly trying to sneak out to go and ride horses."
She is the only one of four siblings to ride, focusing on eventers initially. "I've got three older brothers and they wouldn't know how to ride a horse if you put them near one," she said. "They wouldn't even know how to put a head collar on one. And as dad says, I've probably won the genetic lottery in that sense, because they're all over six foot."
Her competitive nature was honed by her brothers. "I don't think competitiveness was ever going to be a worry with me," she said. "As a child, I just loved competing and I loved riding, and it all kind of fell into place."
Despite an early fall that she cannot remember, Osborne never considered quitting. "I knew that [injuries happen] before I started. I grew up in a racing yard. I grew up knowing that Dad was a jockey and I've been watching racing every day of my life since I was tiny. I think it's more stressful for them [her parents] than it was for me," she said.
