Kingscote: confidence key to my Group One wins ahead of Hong Kong move

Richard Kingscote has opened up about the importance of confidence – or lack of – when it comes to race riding following a season that has already presented a brace of Group One wins ahead of the jockey’s move to Hong Kong this autumn. 

The motorcycle-obsessed rider has enjoyed plenty of thrills in the saddle this year with top-level successes in both the Commonwealth Cup and Sussex Stakes, and, speaking to host Adam McNamara on the latest Jockeys: The Podcast, he revealed that the trainer/jockey relationship is crucial to his success. 

He explained: “Jockeys ride on confidence, which I find quite interesting when I listen to some people and how they have a relationship with their trainers, that the trainers put them down, because jockeys thrive on confidence. You can't second guess yourself. 

“If you've questioned yourself, the decision is already too late. So, I find it always better to try and be as confident as possible when you're riding. 

“Some people thrive under that pressure. And I guess it depends on the jockey, but if I'm confident I ride better, because we all go through purple patches and we all go through quiet patches. 

“That's just racing. It's how it is. But I think when you know your boss or owners are behind you, it's easier to get that confidence back." 

Kingscote’s career took off once appointed stable jockey to Tom Dascombe in 2008, but, having grown up in Weston-Super-Mare in a family with no racing connections, he began his career in the saddle by attending the British Riding School before moving onto a job with Roger Charlton. 

However, he would often overthink some of his early rides, as he explained: “When I was an apprentice, someone would say, ‘you're drawn a little bit wide, don't go wide or don't not have cover’. And that would always happen because then it's stuck in your brain. It's weird. 

“But if someone just said, ‘don't worry about it, do your best, try and get some cover if you can, but don't worry about it’ it would go much better. 

“Certainly, toward the end of my apprenticeship with Roger Charlton, I wasn't riding well for him. 

“I think the trust had gone and I probably wasn't riding very well about halfway through my claim. But there was a point when I was riding for Mr Charlton that I was riding badly. He could sense that. I think the trust had gone. 

“And then when that happens, the trainer would want to control everything that is going to go on in the race. And that can't happen. So they think of all the scenarios and what they want you to do. 

“But then all the scenarios can change as soon as the stalls open. I was riding pretty poorly at that time and I was only apprentice, so I was still learning. 

“And I wasn't the best apprentice there was.” 

Things have changed plenty since then, however, with Kingscote’s winning ride on Qirat in the Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood emphasising how good a judge of pace the now-39-year-old rider has become. 

Course specialist Qirat was ostensibly in the race to ensure a true gallop for the fellow Juddmonte-owned Field of Gold but held on well for a 150/1 success – the longest priced winner of a British Group 1. 

He recalls: “In my mind I was there to do a job as a pacemaker and I had a look behind when the other horse [Serengeti] came around and they [the other horses and jockeys] were nowhere near us so I thought there was no point me going on with the other horse because then the ones behind would have nothing to aim at if I'm too far away. 

“I didn't need to go that fast and my horse was happy so I just took the lead. It wasn’t complicated, I just didn't want to get into a battle. 

“If I'd stayed with him we would have both gone too fast. There was no point going with him. If I'd looked round and they were right there then I would have gone with him – I wanted to make sure I was being helpful. 

“My horse was seen as a lead horse and there was no reason for those jockeys to think that they wouldn’t have picked us up. 

“I’ve been guilty of it before – of thinking that a certain horse is the one I need to beat, to keep tabs on – William [Buick, rider of Field of Gold] said he wanted to follow Rosallion. 

“It was just one of those scenarios that didn’t work out for them on the day. 

“It was a strange feeling when we won, it was quiet, I didn’t know if there was another horse on the other side of the track that I hadn't seen!” 

The high-profile success was good timing for Kingscote, who earlier that month had revealed that he would be heading to Hong Kong this winter. 

Kingscote – who won the Derby on Desert Crown in 2022 – spent some time there earlier this year as an emergency replacement for ten meetings after a spate of falls in Hong which hospitalised four jockeys, including local stars Zac Purton and Vincent Ho, and is looking forward to heading back there shortly. 

He explained: “It’s better to be going on the back of a good year and I can show them that I’m able to ride nice winners. 

“I think it’s definitely the right decision, it was all decided before the Group 1 winners and I’m delighted they are letting me come over. 

“Even six months ago, Honk Kong wasn’t on the cards, I didn’t have a Group 1 horse in sight – I thought Time For Sandals would be the best horse I'd ride this year – but I didn’t have a job. 

“I was hunting around the all-weather in the winter, which was hard, and when you don’t have a good horse to look forward to it’s a difficult job. 

“It’s not a given that things will go well – you can only try these things. If it doesn’t go to plan then I can always come back here and do what I’m doing now; I haven’t burnt any bridges and everyone seems to agree that it’s a great opportunity. 

“It’s a no-brainer for me.”