Buick: it is the pinnacle of the sport, the holy grail, the be all and end all

William Buick was already a dual St Leger-winning rider and on Saturday he became a Derby-winning jockey. Here, he reflects on the race and what it meant to him.

I knew before the race that Masar would be a straightforward ride. I'd finished second in the race twice before but a lot of my previous mounts had lacked the tactical gears for an ideal Derby horse.

Charlie [Appleby] was very confident this horse would stay – he convinced me he would – so then it was just a case of getting him into a rhythm, getting him relaxed and trying to get a smooth run through.

He jumped in a good position, came back lovely up the hill and conserved the whole way around.

He handled Tattenham Corner well enough and I pulled him out, just to give him a good view of the track, and he really came alive underneath me. From there it was just a matter of trying to find my run, and he quickened well and put the race to bed.

It's something really special. It's the pinnacle of the sport, the holy grail, the be-all-and-end-all, the everything. It means the absolute world to me. It's great for Charlie, for Sheikh Mohammed. It's huge.

William Buick and Masar after winning the DerbyCredit: Edward Whitaker

It shows what a class horse he really is. If you go back to the Guineas, there were effectively two fields and the race was kind of taken away from him.

Charlie was adamant that he'd stay and be better over this trip, and that's what he proved – on pedigree he was bred for the job.

Members can read the latest exclusive interviews, news analysis and comment available from 6pm daily on racingpost.com