PRIOR to last Monday evening, I had never even attended a race meeting in Britain, let alone rode at one. Not only was that all new to me but riding on a switchback race such as Epsom was a totally alien experience in itself. So, to win the Amateur Derby at the famous Surrey track on the Tony Martin-trained Belgoprince was something that will live long in my memory.

With my father being involved with the Ward Union Hunt, it was perhaps only natural that I would develop an interest in horses from a young age. We always had a couple of ponies and hunters at home, so he taught me how to ride as soon as I was able. From there, I went on to do Pony Club, before following in his footsteps with the hunting. There was always racing on the TV in our house when I was growing up, so I suppose the inclination to veer towards becoming a jockey stemmed from that. Although we would have gone to the odd meeting such as Punchestown or Leopardstown during my primary school days, I wouldn’t have been racing regularly.