Commonwealth Games
League
Rugby
Football
Cricket
Golf
Sport Nation
Racing
Motorsport
Netball
Combat Sports
Basketball
Other Sports
Grylls retains premiership crown
Joshua Smith, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk • July 31st, 2026 1:52 pm
2025/26 New Zealand Jockeys' Premiership winner Craig Grylls. Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images)
Matamata jockey Craig Grylls has dominated New Zealand’s riding ranks once again this season and has retained his National Jockeys’ Premiership crown.
The 36-year-old hoop was a runaway leader in last season’s premiership and proved it again this term, posting 140 victories, 47 wins ahead of his closest rival, Samantha Collett.
“I am absolutely stoked,” Grylls said. “I was lucky to be so busy through the summer and being able to open up a big margin. I was able to have a couple of breaks over winter without having to go too hard the whole time, so it was really good.”
Grylls recorded 11 stakes wins this season, and while hard pressed to pick a highlight, Waitak’s Group One double in the Howden Insurance Mile (1600m) and Livamol Classic (2040m) were memorable, and he is hoping they can repeat that feat this spring.
“A couple of Group One wins on Waitak earlier on in the season were great,” he said. “I think he is trialling at Taupo in the middle of next month and then he is going to the three triple crown races. As far as I am aware, I am booked to ride him, so I look forward to getting back on him, he is a grand old horse.”
La Dorada’s return to form in the Gr.2 Levin Classic (1400m) at Trentham in January was particularly rewarding for Grylls, while he is excited to reunite with the Andrew Forsman-trained Hinekaha in the new season, who he thinks can build on last year’s Gr.2 Cal Isuzu (1600m) triumph.
“I had a few good stakes winners like La Dorada in the Levin Classic and Hinekaha,” Grylls said. “She (Hinekaha) has been a horse I have always liked and I look forward to her coming back in the new season. I think she is going to be a topline mare eventually.”
With two consecutive National Premierships under his belt, a move across the Tasman to test his talent in Australia dangles as a lucrative carrot, however, Grylls said he is happy in New Zealand for now, where he has established a great network and lifestyle.
“It (moving to Australia) has crossed my mind from time to time, but I am happy where I am at the moment,” he said. “I am established here and have got a great lifestyle here, and I am lucky that I get great support from everyone, which is fantastic.”
While Grylls has had topflight success in the saddle this season, he has also enjoyed it as an owner, but in another code, with the Dylan and Jo Ferguson-trained juvenile trotter Apollo Eleven winning the Gr.1 IRT Young Guns Easton Light Classic Mobile Trot (1700m) at Alexandra Park in May.
It has been a memorable year for Grylls, and he is hoping his form can continue into the new season, which will start on Saturday where he has a handful of rides at Ruakaka, including the Andrew Forsman-trained Walkin In Memphis, who will contest the 15 Aug Cambridge Stud Northland Breeders’ Stakes (1100m).
“I have got a couple of nice rides on paper, so it would be nice to kick off the new season with a win or two,” he said. “Walkin In Memphis is a nice horse, he has shown plenty of promise as a two-year-old. His trial was okay at Avondale, he is going to improve a lot with that, and I am looking forward to getting back on him.”
