'I can't believe how well it's gone': Ben Curtis looks back on a stunning month

Ben Curtis can scarcely believe the start he has made to 2020, when his 151 rides have yielded a fantastic 37 winners.

That might be a long way off the modern-day record for wins in a calendar month, held by Jim Crowley with 46 in the September of his championship-winning season in 2016, but it takes some doing on the all-weather. Only Luke Morris has returned comparable figures in the last few years, with 34 from 137 in January 2015.

Curtis, who has somehow managed to squeeze a couple of trips to Dubai into a manic schedule, has never known a spell like it, and he's not about to take his foot off the pedal. He starts February with four rides at Lingfield followed by another five at Kempton.

He said: "It's been brilliant. If somebody had said to me on January 1 that I'd have a month like this I'd have snapped their hands off. I can't believe how well it's gone."

The 30-year-old added: "I decided to stay at home with the family to ride on the all-weather this winter and it went well from the start. Once it got going I just went with it. I've had a lot of good rides, and I've been able to convert plenty of them into winners.

"A lot of it is down to my agent Simon Dodds, as he works hard on the phone and also knows his way around the form book, so he's not only getting me plenty of rides, he's also getting me on plenty with good chances."

Ben Curtis with Good Effort after their win at Newcastle on January 8Credit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Curtis shared fifth spot with PJ McDonald in the jockeys' championship last year with 82 winners, but only Oisin Murphy and Danny Tudhope bettered his calendar-year total of 137, a figure reached despite a much lower-key January score of ten.

Having started 2020 so much better, there will be no let-up from Curtis, but it's not all about numbers.

He said: "The big thing for me now will be to keep up the momentum, but alongside that I want to get on better horses in bigger races. The quality has been improving steadily over the last couple of years, and I want to keep it going in that direction.

"It has helped that a lot of the retained riders are away at this time of year, as it opens a lot of doors for me. I've made a lot of new contacts and ridden winners for trainers I wouldn't normally ride for, so I'm keen to build on that now."

A winning first ride for Godolphin on Al Maysan at Newcastle on Friday evening – the second leg of four victories – was yet another big step in the right direction.

Curtis is well aware that it will get harder when the big names return, and he wants to ensure he is at his best, saying: "I'll need a break at some stage, as I don't want to go into the turf season feeling flat, but after Cheltenham there are five days without any all-weather meetings. I won't need to stick around then so I'll aim to get away to the sun with the family. I might even stretch it out to a week."

View details Ben Curtis's amazing January

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