Joseph Kevin Fanning (born 24 September 1970) is a retired Irish jockey who was based in Britain as stable jockey to Mark Johnston. He was twice All-Weather Champion Jockey. In a career spanning 36 years, he rode 2,947 winners in Britain, the seventh highest tally of any jockey in British flat racing history. The greatest success of his career was his Ascot Gold Cup victory on Subjectivist in 2021.
Career
Fanning grew up in Roundwood in County Wicklow, where he was surrounded by horses. He developed an interest in racing through attending meetings at Leopardstown with his father. He graduated from the Irish Racing Academy in 1986 and was apprenticed to The Curragh trainer Kevin Connolly.
In 1988, he moved to England to work for trainer Tommy 'Squeak' Fairhurst in Middleham, Yorkshire. He rode his first winner, Holdenby, in a race over hurdles at Sedgefield on 14 November 1989. He broke two neck vertebrae in a fall at Newcastle after only three months and switched to flat racing. His first win on the flat was on Henry Will in an apprentices' handicap at Great Yarmouth on 6 June 1990 Yarmouth. He would later believe he was too light to have been a jump jockey in the first place.
He rode out his apprentice claim within two seasons, and then found it more difficult to get rides, although he won the 1993 Northumberland Plate for trainer George Moore on Highflying. In order to help his career, he began to ride out for another Middleham trainer, Mark Johnston. In 1995 he signed as a retained jockey for Johnston and his career began to recover. In 1998, he won his first Listed race, the Tote Silver Tankard at Pontefract on Three Green Leaves for Johnston. The following year he won his first Group race, the Group 3 September Stakes at Epsom on Yavana's Pace, a Johnston-trained horse on which he would also win the Prix Gladiateur at Longchamp two years later, almost to the day. He was also second twice in the Irish St Leger on Yavana's Pace - in 1999 and 2000.
Darasim, trained by Johnston, provided Fanning with his first Group 2 win, taking the Prix Kergorlay in August 2003. The horse would later provide other big race victories in the 2003 Prix Gladiateur, the 2004 Betty Barclay Rennen in Germany, and the 2004 Goodwood Cup. In 2004, Fanning secured more than £1 million in British prize money in a season for the first time. In 2006, he passed 100 winners for the first time. This was also the year of his first Royal Ascot winner - I'm So Lucky in the 2006 Wolferton Handicap. Then, in 2007, he won the King Edward VII Stakes at the Royal meeting on Boscobel, a horse on which he'd also won the Listed Glasgow Stakes at Hamilton Park. Earlier in that same season, he won the Lincoln on Very Wise for William Haggas. Also in 2007, he broke two vertebrae in his back when falling at Goodwood and was out for seven months. Other Royal Ascot victories have come on Holberg (2009 Queen's Vase), Drill Sergeant (2009 Duke of Edinburgh Stakes), Fennell Bay (2012 King George V Stakes), Hartnell (2014 Queen's Vase) and Oriental Fox (2015 and 2017 Queen Alexandra Stakes), all trained by Johnston.
Fanning's largest single prize pot to came in the Goffs Million Mile at The Curragh in September 2009 on Shakespearean, for Johnston. He won more than 100 races in Britain every season from then until 2020, with his highest total of 188 coming in 2012. Also in that period, he twice won the All-Weather Jockeys' Championship - in 2009/10 and 2011/12. In 2014, he surpassed £2 million in British prize money in a year for the only time in his career.
Although Fanning was stable jockey to Johnston, he seldom had the opportunity to ride in Group 1 races because Johnston's biggest owners had their own retained jockeys. It was only in September 2016, on his 46th birthday, Fanning finally secured his first Group 1 victory on The Last Lion in the Middle Park at Newmarket by three-quarters of a length at 25/1, having won the Group 2 Sirenia Stakes at Kempton three weeks before. Fanning later spoke of his satisfaction at winning a Group 1 after so many Group 2s and 3s. "I wouldn't have liked to face retirement without that Group 1 so I did have a feeling of relief", he said. After the race, Johnston congratulated Fanning, saying: "It's fantastic for Joe. He's ridden a huge number of winners for us over the years. He usually doesn't get the opportunity to ride in Group Ones. Hopefully he'll get a few more before he retires. He gives us loyalty. He came to us when he was just out of his apprenticeship. Many times he's been jocked off over the years and had to play second fiddle to a chain of jockeys. He never complains." Fanning responded in a rare interview by saying: "I haven't ridden out for any other trainers in 20 years or so and I respect the loyalty he has shown me. It's something that works both ways." He continued: "It's never nice being jocked off a decent horse; just because I don't complain doesn't mean it doesn't bother me."
In May 2018, Fanning achieved his first win in a Classic race, riding Nyaleti for Johnston in the Group 2 German 1,000 Guineas at Hoppegarten. He won the same race the following year on Main Edition, also trained by Johnston. He reached a mark of 2,500 winners in Great Britain on 24 August 2019 with a win at Redcar on Universal Gleam for Keith Dalgleish. He was one of only two active jockeys to reach that total, the other being Frankie Dettori.
In July 2020, Fanning rode the three-year-old Subjectivist for the first time, winning the Listed Glasgow Stakes at Hamilton Park for Johnston. Later that season, the pair won the Group 3 March Stakes at Goodwood and the Group 1 Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp. In March 2021, they won the Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan in Dubai. On 17 June 2021, Fanning rode Subjectivist to a five-length victory in the Ascot Gold Cup. They were applauded back into the winner's enclosure by all the jockeys who had come out of the weighing room, testament to the esteem in which Fanning was held.
Fanning fractured his humerus in June 2022, in a fall from Braes Of Doune at Musselburgh, was sidelined for a large part of the busiest time of year, which contributed to his lowest seasonal total since the 1990s. In 2023, he won the Ayr Gold Cup for the only time on Significantly and rode The Gatekeeper the 25/1 winner of the closing Balmoral Handicap on British Champions Day at Ascot. For a short time in early-to-mid-season he had headed the Jockeys Championship. In 2024, Fanning rode his tenth winner at Royal Ascot when Pilgrim, trained by David and Nicola Barron, won the Palace Of Holyroodhouse Handicap.
Retirement Fanning underwent treatment for prostate cancer at the end of 2025. The treatment was successful, but he did not return to race-riding and announced his retirement in July 2026. He said: "I've been lucky enough to experience countless special days in racing, but The Last Lion winning the Middle Park, and Subjectivist's Ascot Gold Cup success, in Dr Jim Walker's colours, will always stand out. It feels especially fitting my final ride was a winner for Johnston Racing aboard Loquella at Newcastle last November." He said he was still riding out for Johnston Racing and would be helping his wife Sarah in their sales and pre-training business. Fanning rode a total 2,947 winners on the flat in Britain, about half of them for Johnston.
Statistics
Flat wins in Great Britain by year
Year Wins Runs Strike rate Total earnings 1988 0 9 0 £219 1989 0 0 0 £0 1990 17 244 7 £84,038 1991 43 527 8 £202,954 1992 45 616 7 £203,333 1993 22 513 4 £208,453 1994 14 438 3 £125,648 1995 17 302 6 £107,395 1996 19 351 5 £117,442 1997 18 270 7 £96,164 1998 18 300 6 £97,174 1999 67 603 11 £375,239 2000 63 649 10 £445,097 2001 71 725 10 £505,274 2002 76 682 11 £576,404 2003 84 753 11 £844,980 2004 97 787 12 £1,046,840 2005 76 782 10 £854,904 2006 108 938 12 £1,054,594 2007 73 462 16 £686,764 2008 82 698 12 £766,520 2009 113 712 16 £1,130,082 2010 120 895 13 £921,934 2011 103 638 16 £588,574 2012 188 1138 17 £1,149,204 2013 156 1180 13 £1,607,537 2014 168 1177 14 £2,139,833 2015 132 938 14 £1,203,609 2016 129 1025 13 £1,330,657 2017 140 849 16 £1,429,390 2018 137 935 15 £1,675,331 2019 135 810 17 £1,983,622 2020 85 744 11 £941,690 2021 80 634 13 £1,175,961 2022 41 292 14 £751,507 2023 87 556 16 £1,551,675 2024 73 584 13 £1,315,390 2025 50 431 12 £830,196
Major wins Great Britain Ascot Gold Cup - (1) - Subjectivist (2021) Middle Park Stakes - (1) - The Last Lion (2016)
France Prix Royal-Oak - (1) - Subjectivist (2020)
References