Dean Curran

I'm 22 and from Kildare town. Lots of my extended family are involved with horses and racing so the whole game was drilled into me from an early age.

My dad Paddy rode and has worked for James Leavy for some time. Then there's my uncle Robbie Burke who was a successful jockey and another uncle Fabian Burke who has been an important part of several yards around the Curragh and has trained point-to-pointers successfully. Jockey Mark Gallagher is a cousin of mine and my grandfather Paddy Burke trained successfully for many years. So I'm never short of feedback and advice when it comes to looking back at my rides, what I've done well and what I need to improve upon.

My dad started me off in James Leavy's yard and Fabian was working with Michael Halford so I started going in there at weekends as well. I went to school in Kildare up until my Junior Cert and then did the apprentice jockeys' course in RACE and was sent out to Mr Halford's yard after that. That was a great place to learn and the likes of Shane Foley and Conor Hoban helped me a lot there. I then joined up with John Feane and he provided me with my first winner which was Yuften at Dundalk in February 2019. I'd been dreaming about that moment for a long time and it was brilliant. My dad was there to witness it and Yuften was a great schoolmaster for me and my second winner also came on him back at Dundalk the following month. I've actually enjoyed a good bit of success at Dundalk, seven of my 12 winners have come there. I've built up plenty of experience riding on the polytrack there and that has stood me in good stead.

I linked up with Ger O'Leary then and he gave me loads of opportunities on his horses. Himself and his assistant Adrian Joyce trusted me to take on the responsibility of riding the horses and I have massive respect for them on account of that. They believed in my ability to get the job done. My win on Ger's Pretty Rebel at the Curragh was one to savour and it's been watched by plenty of people since because of the manner of it. She was very slowly away and looked to have lost all chance but I let her find her feet and she finished best of all. As it turned out, she was a filly on the improve and went on to be Listed-placed but I got a great kick out of that win at the Curragh. When you have to tear up Plan A and improvise like that, it's very satisfying when it comes off.

When Ger finished training earlier this year, Darren Bunyan took on a lot of his horses and I made the move to Darren's yard myself. Things have gone well and Darren has given me plenty of chances. I rode You Owe Me Money to win twice within a week at Gowran in May and Jaabar won nicely at Killarney earlier this month. He had run a cracker at the Curragh the time before, we stepped him up in trip and he came home well for me after I switched him out for a run a furlong from home. Darren has put his faith in me and I hope that I can continue to repay that. I'm in his yard six days a week and I also go to Kevin Prendergast's for an hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Chris Hayes and Gary Halpin give me good advice and feedback there and of course Mr Prendergast is a legendary figure on the Curragh.

The winners have come along steadily for me and I feel that I'm improving all the time confidence-wise and in terms of fitness and race-riding tactics. My weight is good and I can do 8st 8lbs without too much bother. I recently bought a house in Kilmessan Co Meath, very near to where Ger Lyons trains, and am living there with my partner. We have a little baby girl so I've had to grow up fast but we're delighted with our new home and the drive to the Curragh every morning takes about an hour so it's not too bad at all. Hopefully things will continue to go well and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.