William Buick interview: Godolphin jockey on 2000 Guineas, Ruby Walsh and taking on Enable

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Last season proved quite the success for William Buick. Stable jockey for the all-powerful Godolphin operation, the 30-year-old rattled off Group 1 wins in seven different countries, globetrotting his way to glory in lands as far flung as Hong Kong and the UAE, the USA and Japan.

Crowning it all was the biggest win of his career so far, partnering Masar to victory in flat racing’s blue riband contest, the Epsom Derby. Yet as the Qipco British Champions Series gets underway with the first Classic of the new season in the 2000 Guineas, Buick has no time to dwell on past glories.

“You want to do it all again,” Buick told Standard Sport. “You're always looking forward and things move quickly in this game so you never sit back and rest on your laurels because that's when people catch up with you.

“Of course it's good to have winners, but the weekend is another weekend, another day, another race. You don't really go into the Guineas looking back at your previous wins, you look ahead.”

Buick’s mount for Saturday’s Newmarket feature, the Charlie Appleby-trained Al Hilalee, looks an intriguing prospect. Lightly raced, with two wins from his two starts last season, the three-year-old was a surprise late entry last week, when he was supplemented for the race at a cost of £30,000.

Al Hilalee wins on his racecourse debut at Newmarket last July
Getty Images

“I think he’ll run very well,” Buick said. “He’s the one horse in the field who has gone under the radar and people haven’t seen much of him, so he could be the unknown quantity in the race.

“He certainly felt like a horse who’d be a better three-year-old to me. The reports are good. He’s stepping into Group 1 company for the first time but he’s an exciting horse.

“Charlie and Sheikh Mohammed decided to supplement him for the race and that tells you that the horse has a decent chance.”

That late decision may also have been influenced by the absence of Too Darn Hot, John Gosden’s champion two-year-old from last season, who was the short-priced antepost favourite before being ruled out by a setback.

“To be honest, when Too Darn Hot was in the race, through the winter - I know it's the Guineas, there is no such thing as a certainty - but all winter it looked like a closed shop really, it looked like a one horse race,” Buick said.

“[Now] it does look an open renewal, but that doesn't mean it's not a quality renewal. It's still a very competitive race.”

Leading Guineas fancy Too Darn Hot will miss the race after failing to recover from a splint issue
Getty Images

An encouraging run here would set Al Hilalee up as a potential Derby contender, following a similar campaign to the one Masar had last year, when he was third in the Guineas before going on to Epsom glory.

Masar has not been seen on the racecourse since that triumph but Buick was able to offer an update on his progress, and, like trainer Appleby, is dreaming of a clash with dual Arc winner Enable later in the year.

“Masar hopefully we'll get back,” he said. “I haven't seen him but by all accounts he's doing well. He's only doing slow stuff at the moment, he's got a long year ahead.

“When you say stuff like [a clash with Enable] it's hypothetical, we need to get him back on track first. But of course, Enable is a champion and when you're a champion everyone wants to have a go at you, and hopefully we can somewhere down the line, have a crack.”

Ruby Walsh ended a career spanning more than two decades earlier this week
PA

Speaking of champions, Buick also took time to pay tribute to legendary jumps jockey Ruby Walsh, who announced his retirement this week after winning the Punchestown Gold Cup with Kemboy.

“He’s just a jockey that, when you watch him in a race, you can spot him from a mile away,” Buick added. “He’s incredibly natural and just has something that others don’t have.

“When you’re at his level and at his age now, with the career he’s had, there is nothing better than to retire on your own terms, and to see him retired after a good winner was great.”

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