Daniel King

I'm from Kilbrin in Co Cork and I'm 17. We always had ponies and horses at home and my older brother Connor was a jockey. He did pony racing before he took out his licence, so i decided to go down that route as well. I started off with pony racing at nine years of age and did it for five or six years - I got plenty of experience at that and rode plenty of winners.

When I turned 16 last year, I took out my Flat licence and went to Denis Hogan, I'm now apprenticed to him. He has been very good to me and I've been there ever since. I'm still in school but I'd be there on weekends and school holidays. Most weekends are spent there and I like it there. I've got plenty of rides and plenty of experience. Denis is a jockey himself and he would praise you if you are right, and he'll tell you if you are wrong, so it is good to have him behind you as well.

Hopefully when I finish school, I will go at it full-time and make a career out of it. I'll still ride away even if it is during a school day as my mother and father are very supportive of me. They don't mind me missing a bit of school because I'll catch up on it. I'm in fifth year at school and have another year and a half to go. I will finish school as it great to have that behind you if you don't make it as a jockey, you can fall back on it.

My brother Connor is very tall and the weight got the better of him, so I just decided to take out the conditional licence as I still have a 7lb claim. I have a dual-purpose licence now - I took out my conditional licence (for National Hunt racing) at the start of this year and I've had three rides so far over jumps. If my weight stays okay, I'd like to stay on the Flat for as long as I can. Hopefully I'll get another summer or two out of it before going jumping full-time.

It is fantastic to have an older brother that has been there and done it before me. Everyone knows Connor and they know my name as well from him being so successful on the Flat. He is a bit like my idol, I did look up to him when I was younger and he rode plenty of winners. He was champion apprentice twice in 2013 and 2015. He was, and still is, a very good jockey. He is now full-time with Sam Curling and has had a couple of National Hunt rides lately. I'd love to emulate him but I just want to build up as many contacts as I can and ride as many winners as I can but if the apprentice championship was ever there to be shot at, I'd love to have a go at it.

I have another older brother, Rory, who was actually an apprentice when he was 16. He was with Richard O'Brien in Limerick. He'd be nearly taller than Connor, so he took out his amateur licence and had a couple of rides in bumpers last year and a couple in point-to-points as well. He is going to renew his amateur licence, he's in college but will still rides at weekends. We have a point-to-point trainer over the road called Damian Murphy and he would be over there a good bit. The three of us are all jockeys.

My first ride was in the Curragh, a famous track. I like Killarney because that is where I rode my first winner on a horse called Malbas (in October) for Denis. It is actually a lovely, big, galloping track and you can get a horse into a rhythm in the long straight. It is a nice track to ride around. It took me long enough to get my first winner, I'd say I nearly 40 rides before getting it. We fancied him that day and it was a mixture of elation and relief! I've ridden eight winners now - six on the Polytrack (in Dundalk) and two on turf. I've had seven for Denis and one for Andrew McNamara. I'm available for outside rides on the Flat and over jumps.

Hopefully with the Flat season starting this weekend, I'll start to get a few more rides. I have an agent now, Ruaidhri Tierney. I want to get my name out there. I'm on a 7lb claim so the aim would be to get down to 5lb this season. I would love to be a fully-fledged jockey. If I could make it in Ireland, I'd love to but if I wasn't getting many rides, I'd have no problem going to England. My brother did it and made connections. I love the racing industry - there's great craic in the weigh room. The other jockeys are good and helpful if you ever need a bit of advice.