BECAUSE of Adam Kirby’s prolificacy on the all-weather tracks, he has struggled on occasion to shake the notion that he is ‘only’ an all-weather rider. His rides on Profitable in Group 2 Temple Stakes at Haydock on Saturday, and on Zonderland in the Listed Heron Stakes at Sandown on Thursday evening, were consolidation of the fact that he is top notch on turf as well.

It is true that Kirby rides a lot on all-weather tracks. In the last five years, he has had far more rides at Wolverhampton and Kempton and on Lingfield’s all-weather track than he has had at any other track. He is top class at those tracks, as strike rates of 22% and 21% at Lingfield and Wolverhampton respectively tell you.

But that is probably because he is a top-notch rider, not because he is top notch on all-weather. His strike rate at Brighton, for example, in the last five years is 24% - higher than at any of the all-weather tracks.

strike rate

In 2015, Kirby’s strike rate at Brighton and Pontefract and Bath was higher than his strike rate at any of the all-weather tracks. And interestingly, his strike rate on Lingfield’s turf track of 31% was higher than his strike rate on Lingfield’s all-weather track of 26%.

Rider of more than 100 winners (192 in 2014) every year since 2011, Kirby’s reaction to the loss of his high-profile job with Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum has been admirable. He has just kept his head down, worked hard and got on with things. He could take another step forward this season. He has strong relationships with good trainers like Clive Cox and David Evans and Ian Williams, and he is a go-to man for others, most notably Charlie Appleby. As well as that, he has high-class horses like Profitable and Zonderland and My Dream Boat to take him there.

He already has a Palace House Stakes and a Temple Stakes and a Victoria Cup in the bag. Others could follow soon.