KILLIAN Leonard, whose best moment in Ireland came when he won the Scurry Handicap at the Curragh on Sors in 2016, has moved to England.

Speaking on Wednesday he said: “I have been thinking about it for a while and I rode a few horses at Ballinrobe and thought about moving on the way home that night. I have been riding plenty of horses, but I am struggling to get on some nice horses, so I just felt that I’d give it a go in England and see how I get on.

“I have started riding a few for Adrian Keatley. I used to ride a few for him over here and my plan is to get into a few more yards over the next few weeks and see how it goes. Adrian is giving me a hand getting going and he will try and get me into a few more yards.

“There are so few opportunities over here at the minute and I have nothing to lose by giving England a go. My weight is very good – I have been doing 8st 4lbs at home, but I can do 8st pretty comfortably which will hopefully help in trying to get a few nice rides in those good handicaps on a Saturday over here.

“I moved over last week and hopefully things will go well for me over here. I am thinking of basing myself in the north of England for the time being, but we’ll see how it goes.

“I know that I’ll have to work hard but at the same time, there is a lot more racing over here. You could have five or six meetings on a Saturday and there will hopefully be more opportunities, especially on those busy Saturdays over here.

“Lots of trainers have supported me over the last few years, but some of them have fewer horses now, so you can see that it’s getting harder for them and harder for riders who are not attached to some of the bigger yards.

“There is a lot more racing over here and I am over here a week now and I like it. I am based at Malton and I might try and get into a few more trainers around here next week.

“I’ll put my head down and work as hard as I can to make a go off it.”