Age 35
Marital status Married to Jan, with two children, Kieran and Joe
Licensed since 1987
Retainer John Gosden
Lives Shalbourne, near Marlborough in Wiltshire
Drives Audi A8
Agent Tony Hind
What's your perfect night in, and your perfect night out? The perfect night in would be a chance to put my feet up for a bit and switch off, just relax in front of a decent film with the family. A good night out would be going for dinner with a few friends – Coles, in Marlborough, is a nice place to eat.
You've picked up a two-day suspension – what are you going to do to entertain yourself? I don't know about entertaining myself, there's plenty of work to be done! I'd catch up with some work around the house and spend a bit of time in the garden, cutting the lawn and trimming the hedges, that kind of thing. The kids have ponies, so they need a bit of looking after too.
What's your favourite holiday destination? Well, Neil Callan offered to lend me his caravan so I could take the family to Yarmouth, which was very nice of him, I'm sure. Yarmouth aside, Mauritius would be my choice.
Who'd be your ideal three companions for the long drive to Musselburgh? Michael Schumacher, for a start, so the long drive to Musselburgh wouldn't take so long. Billy Connolly, for the jokes, and Kylie Minogue, for obvious reasons.
What CDs would you keep in the glove compartment for when the conversation dries up? UB40 – everyone likes UB40, don't they?
Who are your biggest heroes – in and out of racing? My biggest hero in racing is Lester Piggott – the man's a legend. Outside racing, it would have to be Roger Federer. I'm not a massive fan of tennis, but he's made the sport a lot better and much more fun to watch without all that boring serve and volleying.
What things excite you – and what do you find a turnoff? The first one's easy – good looking women! And I find cricket a big turn-off, it has no appeal at all for me. Part of the problem is that I don't understand it, but I just find it very dull indeed.
What's the funniest thing that ever happened to you in the course of your work? It was a long time ago, but there was one time when a bunch of us were out riding in Mumbai. One jock – who shall remain nameless – didn't think much of the local food, and the only thing he'd eat was mashed potato with a fried egg on top. We'd always eat at the same place, breakfast and dinner, and one morning we were sitting out the back of the place waiting for breakfast when this jock caught sight of his food being prepared – this Indian guy was just mashing up potatoes with his hands into a bucket. He wasn't very happy, and seemed to do a lot of home cooking after that.
If you could change one thing in racing, what would it be? The rule about blindfolds has always struck me as wrong. If a horse has a blindfold it has to go in early – but if a horse has a blindfold then it usually follows that it has a problem with the stalls. It's logical to me that they should go in last, and one day someone will get hurt because one of those horses has been in there too long.
If you hadn't been a jockey, what would you like to have done? Maybe a golfer – I used to love playing golf until I hurt my back, and I haven't played for ages. I used to play quite a lot, it's a great game and I miss it. I'll definitely play again, although, it'll just take a bit longer until I'm ready.
Do you ever read the Betfair forum? No – but I've heard there are a lot of strange people on there!
What's the daftest question you've ever been asked by a journalist?
I won about ten lengths on something one day, and when I came in some chap asked me whether I thought it was a nice horse. I just laughed.
What are the best and worst rides you have ever given a horse? The best ride I gave one was For The Present when we won the Stewards' Cup. He was a difficult horse to ride, he pulled hard, and with 20-odd horses things were hard enough anyway. Anyway, it all came together and we won by a short head and a head – it was pretty satisfying.
Worst ride? God, there've been plenty. The one I'm most embarrassed about is Gazelle Royale in the 1997 Oaks. I was a lot younger then and I lost my head a bit – I'm not saying I would win the race now but I'd do it a bit differently. Every time they show the race, like when they do those Oaks memories things, I cringe, I can't watch it.
What's the biggest regret of your career? I don't have any real regrets – even Gazelle Royale wasn't that bad.