Niall Madden
One
of the youngest jockeys on the National Hunt circuit, Niall Madden looks set to make a major impact
on the sport during his career.
Born in Ireland, Niall Madden is the son of successful jockey Niall ‘Boots’ Madden. In the racing world Niall Madden junior is known as ‘Slippers’ Madden as a tongue-in-cheek reference to his racing pedigree. Madden starter his career as an amateur jockey, winning a number of smaller races on his father’s horses during his three seasons in the amateur races.
In the 2003/2004 season Niall Madden came to the attention of Noel Meade, the trainer who has also achieved so much with Grand National winner Barry Geraghty. During the season Madden achieved an excellent tally of 11 wins, and set his sights on the title of Champion Amateur jockey for the 2004/2005 season.
Niall Madden’s ambitions bore fruit in the 2004/2005 season as the young jockey amassed an incredible 39 wins in amateur races, almost double the tally of his closest rival. With the success rate the next step was inevitable, and Madden registered as a professional jockey for the 2005/2006 season.
Before making the shift to professional racing Niall Madden, 2008 Grand National jockey, was paired up with Numbersixvalverde. Success followed in short order with Madden and Numbersixvalverde winning two good steeplechase titles. His first year as a professional racer yielded a handful of significant victories, including a win at the Galway Hurdle on More Rainbows.
With limited success as a professional, it seemed for a while that Niall Madden might have done better to remain an amateur jockey. The young rider had to put up with a series of frustrating setbacks, which included being replaced on Numbersixvalverde by Ruby Walsh only for Walsh to win the Irish Grand National.
Niall Madden’s moment was yet to come. In 2006 he was once again partnered with Numbersixvalverde for the Grand National at Aintree. The race was a closely contested affair, and for a while it looked as if Hedgehunter would become Grand National winner for the second year running, but Niall Madden put in an exceptional performance during his first outing at Aintree and managed to win the race by six lengths.
The Grand National jockey will be making his third outing at Aintree in April 2008. Expect ‘Slippers’ to give Tony McCoy and Ruby Walsh a good test on his way to the finishing post.
Watch out for Niall Madden, 2008 Grand National jockey at this year’s race at Aintree. If you want to place a bet on this event, we recommend William Hill for the best racehorse betting experience.
