THE last thing Paul Nicholls said to me before I went out to ride Clan Des Obeaux was ‘whatever you do, don’t get to the front too soon’.
Sorry, Paul, but I couldn’t help it!
In my defence there wasn’t much I could do as the horse was going so well. He travelled great and jumped for fun.
When we turned in I thought if I can keep this going we could end up winning this.
So when we came to two fences out I just kicked and went for it. I could hear the crowd cheering and drove him into the last.
We met it on a great stride and up and over he went. That was a fantastic feeling.
Mind you, I’m lucky because if another horse had come and beat us I’m sure I’d have been in for one of Paul’s famous rollickings – and I can tell you I used to get a few of them and they weren’t pretty!
It wasn’t until I saw a replay of the race I realised we ended up winning by 20 lengths or so. I actually felt a bit embarrassed to have won the race so easily.
I’ve never been one for big celebrations when passing the post but this time I really got a bit carried away as we crossed the line.
It was just the raw emotion of the race. It doesn’t often get to me but this time it did.
I guess it just showed what it meant to win a race like the King George, especially back on one of Paul’s horses.
It was just like old times and this win ranks right up there with the best of them.
It’s great Paul and the owners put their faith in me and I guess the celebration was part joy and part relief that I had paid them back with a win.
Not that I celebrated in the eve-ning. It was early to bed as I have another busy day ahead of me.
As I drove home from the races last night it certainly hadn’t sunk in.
The only thing I was hoping for was a nice cuppa and that mum had cooked a nice meal!
Maybe the win will sink in when I’m back at the scene of the crime again at Kempton today.
One thing I’d like to say is Harry Cobden was brilliant, both before and after the race.
He must have had mixed feelings after he chose to ride Cyrname, but that’s racing.
He had a tough choice going into the race and sometimes it works for you, sometimes it doesn’t.
Harry was fantastic to me when he knew I would be riding Clan and really helped my in the prep work. I can’t thank him enough.
I watched some videos and Harry talked me through a lot of stuff. I have nothing but respect for him.
After the race he was one of the first people over to congratulate me and say well done.
That’s what makes this game great. Us jockeys stick together and there is great camaraderie.
Of course, you always enjoy the big days but to win a Grade 1 like this is amazing.
I am full of confidence and, to be honest, I am just going out there and having a lot of fun.
After all, I am very lucky to be in this position in my career so if I can’t be having fun now, I’m not sure when I would.
Gone are the days when the pressure got to me.
Now I’m just loving riding for good horses for great people… and if I can manage to win the odd Grade 1 along the way, happy days!
You gotta love this game!
