Sean Levey new Ladbrokes ambassador blog: 'It'd definitely be an interesting documentary for people to watch'

New Ladbrokes ambassador, Sean Levey, has shared his first exclusive blog. He has no runners over the next few days, so instead shares his wider plans for the season and some information on him.

As much as we were very high on quality horses and the right sort of races last year, we were low on quantity, so I changed agents to try and bring that side of things up a bit. It's been going very well up to this point; I've ridden about 40 winners in the last four months, which is pretty good going. So, a strong winter, and hopefully we can keep that momentum going. A good year, for me, is obviously about maintaining those quality horses, but also getting those numbers up, too. 

It's not like I've really concentrated on win percentages or that kind of thing in the past, to be honest - obviously, I'm in a good place at the moment in terms of those numbers, but it's not something I've worried about in years gone by. It's definitely something I'm looking into more this season, and while I'm trying to get more rides, you then want to keep that win rate in a healthy place at the same time. 

You know, within racing, I'd say we've pretty much caught up with the Americans when it comes to the data and analysis side of things. So things like sectional times... you know, that kind of thing is a real eye-opener. Even the way races are spoken about nowadays, and the coverage it gets, there's so much data which is accessible, which is only a good thing for us.

I watch all of my races back; it's so convenient now with the iPhone, and having all of the apps - you can literally watch them straight after the race has finished. It's always good to go back and watch them. And it works the other way, too, so if I'm riding a horse, I like to go back and watch, say, three of their most recent runs. 

If I was to point someone to my standout race, I've always thought that one of the best rides I gave a horse was Richard Hannon's well-gambled Heredia - it was my first Royal Ascot winner. She wasn't a straight-forward horse, she was obviously well-fancied and set-up for that race. Tactically, she was a horse that you had to drop out. You know, that just added a little bit more difficulty to winning on her. I thought that was a really well-executed ride, so that's probably the one I'd show people if they didn't know anything about me. 

Like everyone, Royal Ascot is the one meeting I most look forward to. It's one of the most exciting weeks in racing, and one of the most difficult to be a part of.

But there's so much to look forward to in the next few months. We've got the Chester May Festival coming up, and that's actually one of my favourite places to ride. It's a beautiful track in such a great location. And it's always exciting; it's always busy there. You know, whether it's the big meeting or not, I've always loved riding there. But that meeting, especially, is right up there for me. 

In terms of horses I'm looking forward to riding this year, Rosallion is the obvious one, for me. I won two Group Ones on him last year, and another with him the year before... he's the best horse I've got at the moment, and the one I'm most looking forward to this year.

He's actually been on the go throughout the whole winter, and he's done really well for that. His work has been very good, which is fantastic - and, all going well, you'd imagine he'll have his first outing in the Lockinge at Newbury. 

I suppose once you've won a Group One, and you've won a Classic, you kind of feel like you're going along and ticking the next ones off; at least that's kind of what the St Leger felt like for me last year. It felt absolutely amazing to ride a Group One winner for Aidan O'Brien, because that's where it all started for me.

I had a nice ride for him [O'Brien] recently, which didn't run as expected. But at the same time, it was nice to have been given the opportunity. Look, my hand is always up for him if he's in need of a jockey at any stage.

He's the one who gave me a great apprenticeship, great grounding and a great introduction into the game. For me, that's where it all started. Look, as far as getting rides and having winners for that whole team goes, you know, it does wonders for your career, no doubt, because they're the biggest names in racing.

I had a little boy last year, so I stayed around for the winter. The year before, I was in Gulfstream, which was hard. It was difficult; the weather was great, but everything else was hard.

It's a hard one, balancing work and home life, especially with a one-year-old. Racing is busy enough, to be honest, without having to have a few nights here and there where you're not getting much sleep. But overall, he's really good for us, and the whole thing has been enjoyable, more than anything.

He recognises me on TV now, which is great - but he doesn't shout for me; he seems to shout for a lot of other people! He also seems to prefer jumps racing over flat racing at the moment! But, yeah, we're quite good friends with Hollie [Doyle], and we meet up with her quite a lot. He recognises her, too, and seems to shout more for her than he does for me!

It's funny, me and my wife were speaking the other day, and we saw a kid riding a pony, and we thought 'do you know what? We haven't even put him on a horse yet.' But we haven't really felt in any rush to do so. We might get him a little pony, especially now that he's walking. That's probably the next step, and then whatever will be will be. You know, I was never forced into the sport, even though my dad came from a racing background. I'd imagine I'll probably be the same; even though he'll likely be surrounded by it all his life, the choice will be his.

I watched the Full Gallops documentary and did enjoy it. Could there be a flats version? Yeah, why not. There's so many characters in racing, both in terms of jockeys and trainers. You know, without even concentrating on the usual names, there are so many funny characters around - from the Kieran O'Neills to the Ryan Moores, you know, they're very interesting and fun characters. In terms of trainers, you've got Rod Millmans, all the way to your Richard Hannons... and then up north you've got Michael Dods. There's a great variety of interesting characters.

I don't know what the holdback would be on a flats version of that kind of documentary. Maybe it's just that people in jumps racing are easier to approach. I don't know; it's sort of a different kind of group. I know it's all horse racing, but it's a little more difficult when it comes to flat racing, because you're talking about sheikhs, kings and lords in some cases... maybe it's just not as accessible a world as jumps, but it'd definitely be an interesting documentary for people to watch, for sure. 

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