Grand National winning-jockey’s large prize cash after splashing money on Porsche
Paul Townend has enjoyed a remarkable 2025/26 season in the saddle and treated himself to a Porsche
Jockey Paul Townend celebrates with the trophy after riding I Am Maximus to win the Grand National(Image: (AP Photo/Jon Super))
Paul Townend splashed out on a gleaming new Porsche following his Grand National, Cheltenham Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle treble in 2024 – and now it appears he could afford a second one.
Last Saturday’s stunning Grand National success at Aintree astride I Am Maximus saw the Cork rider achieve Jump Racing’s Holy Trinity within the same campaign for the second occasion in his career.
“I bought the Porsche because growing up I loved speed, I love racing cars. I’m very fortunate because I have been successful. I own my dream house. I decided when I won the Grand National and I won the Gold Cup, and the Champion Hurdle, I just said let’s get it now while I can and enjoy it,” Townend revealed in an interview last September.
Indeed, he has captured all four major accolades in National Hunt racing this term, with his Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle successes on Lossiemouth and Gaelic Warrior sandwiched by a Queen Mother Champion Chase victory on Il Etait Temps.
With the £2.6 million Punchestown festival looming, Townend looks set to savour his most successful season yet, but precisely how much has the 35 year old banked for himself in 2025/26? We have crunched the numbers on Townend’s stellar year in the saddle and reckon he is on track to surpass his earnings from the 2024/25 campaign, despite Willie Mullins surrendering his champion trainer’s title in Britain to Dan Skelton.
We’ve used the standard calculation that a jockey typically receives about nine per cent of winning prize money and roughly four per cent of placed prize money they earn.
The riding fee for a senior jump jockey in Ireland is currently €282, while in Britain it’s £228, and with Townend having raced in 295 contests, his basic fee before any winnings equates to a gross figure of around £65,203 at home and £7,300 in the UK. He’ll have the usual travel, valet, agent and insurance costs to subtract from that total, but it’s in the prize money where Townend has really hit the jackpot.
Townend has pocketed approximately £166,920 for himself from his season so far in Ireland between riding fees and his share of prize money from his 264 rides and 84 victories. In Britain this season, Townend has only notched up eight wins, but with four of them being the big four in jump racing, the total prize money he has earned for connections surpasses £2 million and is almost identical to what he has won at home.
Roughly £168,000 (€193k) of that (alongside riding fees) goes into the Middleton man’s bank account, meaning his estimated gross total earnings for the season thus far in Ireland and the UK amount to an impressive £385,000.
Throughout the entire 2024/25 season he collected just over £434687, meaning a successful Punchestown alongside Willie Mullins will see Townend eclipse that figure and drive his earnings well past the €1 million mark for the previous two campaigns combined. He is currently maintaining an outstanding 31 per cent strike rate in Ireland and 26 per cent in Britain.
Nevertheless, he appears unlikely to claim an eighth Irish champion jockeys title, with Jack Kennedy presently holding a 15 winner advantage over his bitter rival with merely a fortnight of the campaign left.
That said, considering the exceptional form Townend is currently showing and with the mighty Willie Mullins squad supporting him throughout the five days of Punchestown, it remains something that cannot be completely ruled out.
