I RODE my first winner on the Flat at Newmarket!
That may not sound much, but in my eyes Newmarket has always been Flat Racing's Mecca in Britain so to register a winner there was a sweet feeling.
The pot was about £6,000 and the £500 will cover my petrol for a few weeks at least.
The race was over in 58 seconds but I thought me and my mount for William Muir, Secret Missile, were going to be in trouble getting away.
He was very keen in the stalls until a handler came along and threw a blanket over his back - the old Monty Roberts trick. That calmed things before we broke, making all the running and then pushing for the line from a furlong out.
It was only after when I was driving home that I thought: "I've just ridden a winner at Newmarket."
Like all jockeys you always harbour ambitions to be champion jockey but without a retainer it's never going to happen. So, on the drive home I was thinking I need to ride a flat winner at 28 other tracks and I'll have returned victories over jumps and on the flat at every track in Britain.
You are right, it IS a long way to go but I managed to complete the jumps side of it last year. With no chance of winning the championship I've set it as a personal goal.
Two days later, in Perth, I was first past the post on the Ian Semple-trained Bellgrove, winning the big handicap. I didn't see this win coming but in fairness to Ian, he did, going against my advice to enter him in the Novice Race, in pursuit of the bigger prize.
His instincts were proved right and we edged the victory by just over a length.
I enjoyed both wins but the week was gift wrapped by a house move and it's a wonder where I even got the time or the energy to concentrate on the lifting and the paperwork.
It would have been a whole lot harder without the Newmarket feeling.
See More: Comment & Analysis
