Doyle's time in Australia should see the rider advance

If a week is a long time in politics, six months is an eternity in racing, but for James Doyle the time will be particularly well spent. Once upon a time it was the bad crowd who found themselves doing a spot of re-evaluation in Australia, but Doyle is there by choice and a good choice it is too.

There can be the teeniest, weeniest inclination to knee-jerkily nationalistically consider British racing the best in the world, and of course it's among the best in the world, but what they have in Australia is of the same calibre and for a young jockey such as Doyle to experience the trials and triumphs of a very different jurisdiction will be extremely valuable in regard to his future career. The Godolphin man has risen to become one of the better riders in the British weighing room, but his sojourn down under will only improve him further.

A position in the hot seat for Godolphin brings its own rewards but also brings, in recent years, a degree of difficulty. When Frankie Dettori was the operation's only rider the situation was straightforward, but with Godolphin's expansion to embrace a greater number of trainers and a greater number of jockeys the role has altered. There are more horses to ride, but now that there are two jockeys involved - as well as other riders retaining the mount on Godolphin's recent purchases - there is more uncertainty involved.