'It's good to be a contender' - Joe Fanning edges into the lead in Flat jockeys' title race

Joe Fanning hopes to continue his winning form after success at Windsor on Monday evening propelled the 52-year-old to the head of the Flat jockeys' championship. 

Victory on the well-fancied Alpina Express in the 1m3½f handicap gave Fanning the edge in the title contest with 35 wins ahead of three-time winner Oisin Murphy, with the Yorkshire-based jockey operating at an impressive 22 per cent strike-rate. 

Based with Charlie Johnston, Fanning rode just one day at Royal Ascot when finishing third on Subjectivist in the Gold Cup but still had a winner last week at Goodwood and is enjoying his best month since July 2017 with 23 victories. 

"I am really pleased with how the season has started, it feels fantastic to still be riding regular winners," Fanning said. "The horses are running well. It is still early days, but hopefully I can get a few big wins along the way too.

"I try not to think about the championship too much, I am just enjoying it and there is a long way to go yet, but I am pleased with how it is going. It's good to be a contender in a competitive title race." 

Murphy is strongly fancied to regain the jockeys' championship title from last year's winner William Buick, but will have to contend with missing Newmarket's July meeting after landing an eight-day whip suspension incurred when riding Valiant King into second in Thursday's King George V Stakes. 

Joe Fanning: scored on Alpina Express at Windsor on MondayCredit: Warren Little (Getty Images)

The 27-year-old is one behind Fanning in the title race – which began on May 6 and ends on October 21 – ahead of joint third-placed rivals Hollie Doyle and Buick.

Doyle had a strong week at Royal Ascot when partnering three winners, with her Group 1 King's Stand victory on Bradsell the highlight. 

She said: "I've been pleased with how the season has started. Royal Ascot is a tough place to ride any winner, so it was brilliant to ride three winners there, particularly given they were all for my boss Archie Watson.  

"Archie deserves huge credit for producing his horses in such brilliant form at such a big meeting. Having Group 1-calibre horses like Bradsell to look forward to for the remainder of the season is very exciting and I hope there will be further big days to come."

Neil Callan, who won the first race of the week at Royal Ascot when landing the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes on Triple Time and also rode Burdett Road to victory in Saturday's Golden Gates Stakes, sits in fifth place on 26 winners alongside Tom Marquand, who partnered Desert Hero and Waipiro to victory in Berkshire last week.

Read more: 

Charlie Johnston: 'We'll do everything we can to get Subjectivist to Glorious Goodwood'   

'We still can't believe it' - Brodie Hampson heaps praise on husband Archie Watson's yard as winning run continues   

'We knew we had something under the bonnet' - Saint Lawrence completes superb week for Archie Watson and Hollie Doyle  

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