Luca Morgan has the support of Ben Pauling and his parents to thank as he prepares to lift the 2023 champion conditional trophy at Sandown on Saturday.
Based with Pauling in Naunton Downs, near Cheltenham, the 22-year-old has finished comfortably clear of Harry Kimber – but at 5 foot 11, he never expected to be a jockey taking the quantity of rides he has, as his height prevents him from making the lighter weight required to partner lower-ranked horses.
"It (championship) feels great, it's not something I ever thought I'd do so it's a nice surprise and I'm pleased I've done it," he said.
"We had a good summer and managed to keep it up through the winter.
"I didn't have any targets or ambitions as such. I've always been one of the taller lads and at the same time heavier, so having loads of rides and loads of winners numerically wasn't going to be my bag.
"I've had so much support from Ben that it balanced out. I've managed to ride plenty of winners for Ben and for Michael Scudamore and a couple of other trainers."
Luca Morgan does not come from an equestrian background – but that did not prevent him and his brother Beau, also employed by Pauling, from pursuing a career in racing after early experiences at riding schools and in the hunting field.
He said: "From a young age I was interested in going to have riding lessons, I was quite small then but I kept going and my mum and dad were really supportive and ended up getting me my first pony.
"Then I went into pony racing and that was that. Beau started riding a lot later than me at about 14. He used to take the mick out of me for riding horses but we had a little hunter at home and he had a little spin on her one day and learnt to ride in about 10 minutes. Next thing you know, he wanted to come and ride out and now he's up at Ben's doing what I did a few years ago.
"Me and Beau are quite competitive, but we haven't ridden against each other that much yet. We both rode a couple of days ago at Kempton, he was second and I was fourth so he's winning at the moment, but I'm sure I'll ride against him soon and put the record straight!"
Morgan considers winners ridden at Cheltenham, his local track, to be the peak of the season so far, but also particularly enjoys the chance to ride any horses owned by his mother, Georgia Morgan.
"There have been some highlights, I've ridden three Cheltenham winners and they're pretty special at the time. I get a real buzz out of riding good horses on good days and I've been lucky enough as a conditional that Ben's put me up on good horses on good days," he said.
"Mum owns a few horses, she'd always have one or two. we've got Twig who has done quite well and I won on at the start of the season. I always like riding a winner for mum in her colours. My mum and dad were so good and helped me out so much when I was young."
Morgan has been riding without a claim since January and has not found it to be too much of a hindrance, something he hopes will continue into the new season and he looks to reach the ultimate goal of riding a Cheltenham Festival winner after coming close aboard Martin Pipe runner-up No Ordinary Joe at the meeting this year.
Morgan added: "I think it could be positive, I lost my claim in January and it gets harder after that, but I'd been riding for a few seasons and it took me a while to lose it. Now I've fully lost it I think I'm experienced enough to ride without it, things haven't gone too badly since January so if I can keep that up I'll be pleased.
"To ride a Cheltenham winner any time of the year is brilliant but with a Festival winner, I've hit the crossbar a couple of times – I've been in the winner's enclosure but never at the number one. That would be a dream come true if one day we could do that."
