Oisín Murphy collected a fifth title as the British Flat jockeys' championship reached an end at Ascot.
A single championship was once a key goal, with as many as five titles a distant prospect in the earlier stages of his career, but another title followed the earlier successes of 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2024.
He said: "I didn’t ever envisage five championships. I was hopeful I might get one, I remember finishing second to Silvestre de Sousa and hoping I could build on that year and maybe be there or thereabouts as it was a huge ambition of mine.
"Some years have been easier than others, this season I’ve had a commanding lead for quite some time but you are always looking over your shoulder, checking the results every day.
"You are aware that one careless riding ban or broken collarbone can impact on your season, so it’s never quite safe until you are in this sort of position.
"I aware I’m in a privileged and strong position riding for a lot of big stables at the moment and without that backing I wouldn’t be at the top of the championship."
While Murphy is likely to have a few rides abroad in the winter and has travelled far and wide this term, and at the close of the season it is the young rider Billy Loughnane that he suspects will be a key rival in the future.
He said: "I tried to achieve everything this year, I didn’t want to miss anything abroad and I’m well down on numbers ridden here as a result.
"I think the likes of Billy Loughnane will be hard to beat next year, he’s got huge hunger but statistically he’ll have to be stronger but you have to remember his age, he’s only going to get better."
The champion apprentice title went down to the final few days once again and after last year’s heartache, Joe Leavy went one better and took the top spot.
He lost out on the final day at Catterick 12 months ago to Sean Dylan Bowen, but this year held off Jack Doughty to come out on top and assert himself as a real talent in the saddle.
