Jockey Profile

Did you know?

From Tralee, County Kerry, Bryan Cooper began his career as an apprentice on the Flat and was based on the Curragh with Kevin Prendergast. However, he only rode one winner on the Flat and that was Dusty Trail for trainer Eoin Doyle at Tramore in August, 2010. He had already ridden 15 National Hunt winners by then.

He claimed the title of Champion Conditional Rider in 2010/11 but his career really took off when he rode three winners at the Cheltenham Festival in 2013. He was hired as the retained rider to Gigginstown House Stud in January of the following year. Cooper suffered a broken leg in a fall from Clarcam in the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival only months later and he spent seven months on the side lines.

Cheltenham was kinder to him the following year where he partnered the Willie Mullins-trained Don Poli to success in the RSA Chase. But he scaled new heights at the Festival in 2016 where he enjoyed his biggest success to date when taking the Timico Gold Cup on the Gordon Elliott-trained Don Cossack. He rode two winners at the 2017 festival. Bryan lost his position as retained rider to Gigginstown House Stud on Friday, July 28, just three days before the start of the 2017 Galway festival. 

Even without the backing of Gigginstown, Bryan continued to bang in the winners and landed the Goffs Handicap Chase at the Dublin Racing Festival in February 2019 on the Paul Nolan-trained Quamino. 

He rode another Grade 1 winner when partnering Nolan's Latest Exhibition to win the Nathaniel Lacy Solicitors Novice Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival in 2020 and added to his top-level haul when winning the Racing Post Novice Chase on the Willie Mullins-trained Franco De Port at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival the following December.

Bryan brought his Cheltenham Festival haul to nine when winning the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle on the Paul Nolan-trained Mrs Milner in March 2021, his first Festival winner since Road To Respect in 2017.