I can’t believe that I’ve done it for the second year in a row!  Winning back-to-back series of the Go Racing In Yorkshire Future Stars Apprentice Series is something that has never done before.  It’s a big achievement that I’m very happy with, as it has been a bit of a mixed season for me.

Fortunately I managed two wins in the series which put me in the lead, before I missed two races in the series through injury.  I was pretty much out of action for the whole of August and early part of September but fortunately for me the races were won by jockeys from further away, including the York leg, which was won by Oisin Orr who is based in Ireland, thereby keeping valuable points away from my closest rivals!

I was away for the Catterick race, which divided, giving two bites of the cherry but I was lucky enough that the results went my way so I stayed in the lead.  Unfortunately, Doncaster was called off on the last day of the flat turf season meaning the final race couldn’t be held.  So although it wasn’t the most conventional way to win, I’m thrilled that I have done!

The Go Racing In Yorkshire Future Stars Apprentice Series is a great series to aim for.  It tracks the flat turf season at regular intervals and riders are able to race at each different course in Yorkshire.  The support through the sponsorship has been great too.  It has given me the opportunity to get involved with lots of different things, which has opened my eyes to everything that goes into putting on a raceday and the different parts of racing that make up the industry as a whole.

Having the blog is a useful way to record what I’ve been up to and it also helps me to focus on what I want to achieve next.

I regularly use the saddle that was part of the prize from White Rose Saddlery and I’m looking to get a heavier one as well.

So the next thing is to set some targets for the future.  Having turned 26 in October I am now a claiming professional, which means I can no longer ride in apprentice races but I still have my claim which will be useful for my boss, Brian Ellison and other trainers that want to use me.  I plan to ride all through winter at the all weather courses across Britain and I want to get back to the level I was riding at before my injury in summer, build on that momentum, keep making contacts and ride winners.

The first objective to help me achieve this is to pass my driving test!