By Duane Fonseca -
It is often said you keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Good luck with trying to get William Buick to subscribe to the idea. Buick might be so positively obsessed with keeping Britain’s Champion Flat Jockey crown for himself for as long as he rides, he wants none of his foes within touching distance. And when he returns to Britain at the close of the Dubai season, there is no doubt the 35-year-old will be looking to distance himself from the rest of his counterparts. Not socially of course, but definitely on the Jockeys’ Championship table. Buick has long had his sights trained on the British crown and after falling short by eight winners in 2020 and a far more agonising two in 2021 — on both occasions behind Irishman Oisin Murphy — he made sure to avoid an undesired hat-trick in 2022, by winning for the first time.
Then last term, he managed to successfully defend his title, by riding 135 winners — 29 more than second-placed Murphy — in 616 rides at a strike rate of 22 per cent. In 2024, Buick will look to complete his hattrick. “Long may that continue,” he said. The form he’s shown so far looks ominous. How else would you read his figures: 17 wins in 31 rides at a strike rate of 54.8 per cent. With an engine that is seemingly wellwarmed, Buick appears revved up for success and it doesn’t matter whether it is the call of the lush, hallowed turf of Dubai’s iconic Meydan Racecourse or the undulating oil-mixed dirt spread out over the gruelling Jebel Ali strip. If an opportunity presents itself, Buick will take it. Like he did last week when leading the Simon and Ed Crisford-trained Swing Vote to victory in the Group 3 Jebel Ali Mile, the most prestigious annual event at the venue.
“I don’t think I’ve won the Jebel Ali Mile before. I don’t think so,” Buick told Adiyat Racing Plus. “I was pretty confident going into the race because Ed gave me plenty of confidence about the horse’s well-being and he’s a very smart horse as we’ve seen here last time when he won the Trial. “Obviously, I had been riding here for His Highness Sheikh Ahmed for a few seasons and it’s great to be back with a winner after a few years. Swing Vote was a good horse in the race and it was a pleasure to get the call to ride him.” Norwegian-born Buick spent his early years at Jebel Ali riding in the colours of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the racecourse’s founder and patron, before returning to Britain where he rose stratospherically among the riding ranks thanks to his association with top stables like that of John Gosden.
“It was really nice coming back here and it was beautiful coming back here particularly when you have such a nice opportunity you really want to make it count,” Buick said. “I’m just delighted to win it and it was a great reception with Sheikha Hissa bint Hamdan Al Maktoum presenting the trophy and all so it was just great and I am very happy.” Buick’s 17 winners have him presently lodged at fifth, 16 behind leader Connor Beasley on the UAE Jockeys’ Championship leaderboard. It could be that the Newmarketbased rider has not given spoiling the party for the locals a thought. Well, not for now at least.
“Charlie’s horses have really been firing here in Dubai. He’s got a nice team of horses here and for now we’re looking to find out if we can produce more horses that will go towards Dubai World Cup night,” said Buick, whose Dubai adventure has so far seen him win the G1 Jebel Hatta presented by Longines and the G2 Al Rashidiya with Measured Time and the G2 Al Fahidi Fort presented by Longines aboard Mysterious Night, both Appleby trainees. Buick is no stranger to winning on Dubai World Cup night, having won the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic on four occasions, the 2019 renewal of the G1 Al Quoz Sprint with Blue Point and the main event of the night, the G1 Dubai World Cup with the Saeed bin Suroortrained Prince Bishop in 2015. Buick is confident he and Appleby could enjoy more success on this year’s Dubai World Cup card after the pair managed to unearth a few potential candidates for the turf events on the programme. “It’s been a great start to the season so far. I’ve been getting good opportunities and the horses have been in good form and long may it continue,” Buick said.
DWC NIGHT IS THE MAIN FOCUS
“Obviously, we all know that the main aim is Dubai World Cup night so we will all work hard towards that and hopefully we can all keep going steadily towards that goal.” After Dubai, his goal shifts Westwards with the British and European season swinging into full gear. Buick relished his championship-winning run in 2023, even though the year wasn’t as prolific for his chief employer Appleby. There were, however, only positives to take from the campaign for the pair as Buick explains. “Last season we finished off really strong with some good performances from the two-year-olds,” said Buick, who landed the G1 Kameko Futurity Stakes at Doncaster with Ancient Wisdom a fortnight after leading Arabian Crown to victory in the G3 Ghaiyyath Zetland Stakes at Newmarket. “They needed a bit of time during the season but they finished really well so that only means we can really very much look forward to the year ahead. We‘re trying to build up the older team of horses as well and I think it’s going to be an exciting season ahead. “His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s investment is second to none so we hope we can carry on and produce the champions that we need to produce.” There’s no doubt Buick will also want to reproduce the form that saw him win backto- back Jockeys’ Championships in 2022 and 2023 when he returns.
“Retaining the Championship was a highlight for me last year, but it was a very different season and I had to work hard for it,” Buick told Racing TV recently. “I had a lot of good winners in 2022, and 2023 was slightly different, but it turned out successful. I have had a lot of domestic and international rides which is never an easy thing to balance when going for a championship, but like in 2022, I managed to get that right.” He added: “The big races, the Classics, the Derbys, the big Group Ones, the festivals and Royal Ascot are the pinnacle of the sport and that is how we showcase ourselves and the best horses. “Being Champion Jockey is great and should be on everyone’s list. Being Champion Jockey drives me, no question about it. I also think that I am at a point in my career where I think why not keep doing it. I enjoy going racing, the winners, the support and I enjoy being Champion Jockey.” High octane stuff! No wonder then that the Buick engine is always purring at high revs.
