Jockey Jim Crowley bullish about repeat show for record-breaking Battaash in Nunthorpe Stakes

It is 14 years since Crowley, who rode over jumps for Yorkshire racing legends Sue and Harvey Smith, switched codes and he’s now just a handful of triumphs short of his 2,000th career winner.

And, having broken York’s course record last year when landing the Group One Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes on the Charlie Hills-trained Battaash in a lightning 55.90 seconds, some expect that time to be lowered today.

Now six, Battaash – known as the ‘Batmobile’ – heads back to York on the back of explosive wins at both Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood in the colours of Sheikh Hamdan al Maktoum.

And while Great Habton trainer Tim Easterby’s Art Power appears to be the best of the Yorkshire contenders, and A’Ali a progressive contender for Simon and Ed Crisford, Crowley, 42, speaks like a jockey looking forward to the occasion rather than being burdened by the weight of expectation.

He said: “He’s the highest-rated sprinter in the world, and if you look at the CV of the races he’s won, there’s not many sprinters who can do that. He’s done it for the last four years now, and I’m very lucky to ride him – they don’t come around like him very often.”

Assessing the opposition, the jockey added: “You’ve got Art Power, who will relish soft ground. I’m not sure A’Ali has done enough to warrant us worrying about him, but you’ve always got to respect the opposition. On the form book they’ve still got plenty to find – they’re the ones who’ve got to step up.”

As for his decision to switch to the Flat in 2006, and becoming champion jockey 10 years later, he reflected: “I was very lucky that my sister-in-law Amanda Perrett had plenty of horses at the time and I had them to fall back on. I was riding for some good owners and was lucky I managed to get on some good horses.

“The year I switched I was doing the two – I’d be going to Newmarket and the following day I’d be going to Uttoxeter, which didn’t make sense really. I worked out quickly it was only about £26 difference in riding fees to go down to an open ditch!

“Financially it made sense to stick to the Flat. Never in a million years did I ever think I’d be champion jockey – but as every season progressed, things improved and I was able to get on some nice horses.

“I never really felt I scaled the heights I wanted to over jumps. I was probably too small and too light and kept getting injured. I had my collarbone removed after breaking it for the 10th or 11th time.

“I was in a rut really. I could have carried on riding 30, 40 or possibly 50 winners a year, but I didn’t want that – it’s not what I set out to do when I was 15 or 16 years old. I wanted to be a champion jockey, and I’m just fortunate I was able to do it on the Flat.”

Earlier Crowley, who is enjoying his best ever year in terms of the quality of his winners, partners Enbihaar in the Lonsdale Cup – a long distance race dominated by the absent Stradivarius in recent years. The five-year-old mare won at Goodwood and Crowley is hopeful she can ultimately land a Group One over two miles. “I’m really looking forward to her – I think she’s a proper Group One mare when conditions are right,” he said.

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James Mitchinson