[1] In his teens, in the evenings he worked for a local horse dealer, Alex Whyte and on Saturday mornings, his mother took him to the yard of John Wilson near Ayr Racecourse.
[2] He started out as an apprentice at Manton Stables in Wiltshire, originally to Peter Chapple-Hyam, then to John Gosden.
He rode his first Royal Ascot winner the following year on Gosden's Ardad in the Windsor Castle Stakes.
His seasonal win total of 27 that year was his lowest since 2004 and he estimated that the affair had cost him a six figure sum in legal fees and lost earnings.
[5] After this setback, he returned in 2018 to secure his best season numerically to date, winning 127 races for £1,346,189 in prize money.
Among his big winners for the season were Lord North in the Winter Derby and Audience in the Criterion Stakes.
Then, in May 2024, he added a second Group 1 victory, winning the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury on his stable's second string, Audience.