Racing: Dwyer finally receives recognition he deserves with Ascot winners

Martin Dwyer provided the perfect riposte yesterday to a journalist whose attitude could have been construed as mildly patronising. After giving of his time before racing at Salisbury, he asked when the fruits of the interviewer's labours might be appearing in print. Tomorrow, was the answer, unless something really dramatic happens on the news front, like Frankie Dettori riding 12 winners.

Dwyer had 11 rides yesterday, starting at Salisbury in the afternoon, and produced his own headlines by scoring on three of the first six, an 84-1 treble. Dettori? Who he? Sorry, Martin. The emergence of Dwyer as a front-runner on the jockeys' leaderboard this year reached a high with a pair at Royal Ascot last week, his first winners at the meeting. Both were well executed victories over the straight five furlongs; Dominica launched like an arrow from the gate to hold on by a head and Zargus held back to stalk and pounce by a neck in the last four strides. "That man has been riding like that all season and not got any credit for it," remarked one pro backer, whose business it is to observe such things, at the time. "Perhaps he will now."

But then Dwyer, 27 tomorrow, is not a boy wonder. He has been around the weighing room since he left school and although one of the better apprentices of his generation his golden time has been a while coming. He has earned the rewards though graft, dedication, observation and patience.

Only Kieren Fallon and Jimmy Quinn have ridden more winners this year than Dwyer, who ended the afternoon on 55 and is now within spitting distance of his previous best score, last year's 65. No-one is more delighted than Ian Balding, who took the little Liverpudlian on as an apprentice. "He was always a bloody good rider," said the trainer, "and now he's riding better class horses that is giving him the confidence to show it. We have a lot of apprentices through our hands and although some might threaten to make the grade, only a few do. Martin was one who was always going to."

At Kingsclere, Dwyer was rather in the shadow of the senior men on the bigger occasions and his breaks began to come over the past year with regular appearances on mounts trained by his other main employer, Marcus Tregoning. "We'd have jocked him off in favour of Kieren or someone," admitted Balding, "but we wouldn't now."

Dwyer, who is married to Zargus's trainer William Muir's daughter Claire, rode his first Group winner on Balding's Halmahera in the Cornwallis Stakes five years ago. He had to wait until last year for the next, but four came along at once, the Mill Reef Stakes and Prix de Cabourg on Firebreak and Lennox Stakes and another Cornwallis on Fath and Dominica respectively, plus a Cesarewitch win on Distant Prospect. The roll has continued this term: a Cheshire Oaks and a first Classic placing on Oaks third Shadow Dancing.

Straightforward, likeable Dwyer agrees that confidence breeds confidence. "I don't think I'm doing anything hugely different," he said, "but I am riding better horses. And if you are confident in the horse you can relax more and are better able to take the chance when it is there. When I came out of my apprenticeship I had to keep my head down and keep working. Without a claim, I had to prove myself. And improve myself as well. I will look at videos of myself to try to analyse how I could be better.

"I haven't modelled myself on anyone in particular, though, just the best bits, I hope, of others. I've been lucky in that while I've been at Kingsclere there have been top-class jockeys there to learn from."

There is still the odd blip – Dwyer has an enforced holiday today (which he will use to take young son Joe to the zoo) as a result of an incorrect whip action at Ascot – but the curve is determinedly upwards. His overview of his career is such that he sacrificed the winter all-weather title to take a two-week break to emerge fresh for the more important turf season.

"The most important thing as you get better is to keep a level head, keep your feet on the ground and realise how you got there," he said. "Riding at Royal Ascot was like playing in the Cup final. Scoring twice was just unbelievable and made every minute of the hard work worthwhile."