James “JJ” Slevin Grand National Wins
James “JJ” Slevin has never won the Grand National.
Their best finish to date was in 2024 with Panda Boy who came 17th.
Full Results
| Year | Horse | Result | Prize Money | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Panda Boy | 17 | - | Martin Brassil |
| 2023 | Longhouse Poet | Fence 8 - Unseated Rider | - | Martin Brassil |
| 2019 | General Principle | Fence 19 - Fell | - | Gordon Elliott |
| 2018 | Thunder And Roses | Fence 26 - Pulled Up | - | Michael “Mouse” Morris |
James Slevin, better known as JJ Slevin in racing, is an Irish national hunt jockey. With a middle name of Joseph, he’s gained the JJ nickname along the way and is now both called this on TV and also listed as this in many racecards.
He began his career as an amateur jockey and rode 34 winners on the point-to-point racing circuit, with the first of those coming in 2010. He would move to the track as an amateur and had his first winner on the track in 2013 at Thurles. He would ride 11 winners on the track as an amateur, and interestingly, he had a couple of winning rides in the UK for trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies, a great way to build out the number of trainers using him for rides.
After having plenty of success and gaining a good following of trainers and owners who would trust him on board their horses, Slevin officially became a professional jockey in August 2016.
His first notable success came as an amateur, winning a Grade Three Novice Hurdle at Cork in November 2015. Just over a year later, Slevin would have his first success on the big stage, winning a race at the 2017 Cheltenham Festival. He won the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockey’s Handicap Hurdle for Gordon Elliott on a horse named Champagne Classic.
A year later, at the 2018 Dublin Racing Festival, Slevin would pick up his first Grade One win. This would come in a Novice Hurdle race at the top level, riding Tower Bridge for Joseph O’Brien, a trainer that was beginning to give Slevin a lot of opportunities at this time.
Two months after that, in April 2018, Slevin would go to another big stage for the first time when he picked up his first Grand National ride. This would come for Mouse Morris, another Irish trainer beginning to take note of this jockey’s abilities, and he would partner a horse called Thunder and Roses.
After unseating his rider at the ninth fence a year earlier, the horse was having his second attempt at the Grand National. With Slevin on his back this time, he did much better, getting all the way to the 26th fence before being pulled up by his rider. He was out of contention at this stage, but it was a much better effort, and the horse gave Slevin a good spin round for his first ride in the race.