'I couldn't have wished for a better season . . . well, I wish I'd won the Arc!'

Two years ago James Doyle did not ride a single Group 1 winner and was in something of a difficult spot. Contracted to ride for Godolphin, principally for Saeed Bin Suroor, he found himself suddenly out of favour and yet kept under contract.

It was a difficult year made all the more shuddering by the fact it came at a time when, after a lot of hard work, his career appeared to have finally gone stratospheric. Cityscape and Al Kazeem thrust him into the big time. At the end of 2013 he was made first jockey to Khalid Abdullah and in his one full year in the role he partnered seven Group 1 winners – thanks to Kingman and Noble Mission – before Godolphin snapped him up.

Yet after less than two years in the role he was in a bind, racing's equivalent of the footballer who would be a star in most teams but was forced to sit on the bench at the biggest of clubs. But out of adversity comes opportunity and the hard work and talent that got him there in the first place has also got him out of it. While Bin Suroor may have lost faith, Sheikh Mohammed did not and in standing by the jockey the owner's trainer refused to use he made an excellent decision.

In 2017 Doyle rode four Group 1 winners, two on Godolphin purchases Barney Roy and Ribchester, one for Charlie Appleby and the small matter of the Gold Cup aboard Big Orange. This year that number has jumped to seven. His relationship with Appleby has flourished thanks to a further three top-level successes aboard Blair House and Jungle Cat twice, and there have been another two apiece aboard Sea Of Class and Poet's Word.

Doyle is well and truly back and believes, somewhat ironically, he has his unusual situation with Godolphin – and a couple of men called Haggas – to thank.

"I'm in a bit of a unique situation where I am part of Godolphin but my commitments there mean I'm pretty free outside of that and it's actually been working well," he says. "The link-up with William [Haggas] has been fantastic and it has filled the void. I couldn't have wished for a better season," he pauses, before adding: "Well, I wish I'd won the Arc."

James Doyle and Charlie Appleby celebrate Group 1 success with Jungle CatCredit: Vince Caligiuri

Doyle was in Melbourne the weekend after his near miss on Sea Of Class for the Appleby rides on Comicas, Jungle Cat and Blair House at Caulfield on Saturday and Folkswood at Cranbourne on Sunday. That added freedom he mentioned meant he also had a first ride for Aidan O'Brien – something that would have been unlikely before a warming of relations between Godolphin and Coolmore – aboard Spirit Of Valor.

It was a frustrating weekend, with two close seconds, but it has been a stellar year. "It started off well in Dubai, Charlie's horses were on fire and Blair House and Jungle Cat won Group 1s and William's were running quite well, we had a few tuned up for all-weather finals day so we had a few winners there and Addeybb won the Lincoln and at Sandown – it was a good start to the year.

"Picking up the ride on Poet's Word was also big - it's not a bad spare to get, is it? Ryan [Moore] was unavailable and I rode him in the Irish Champion last year, so it was pretty nice to get back on him, and then there was Sea Of Class, who has been fantastic and William's done an amazing job with her. It's been nice and I've picked up a lot of good spares this season."

While his relationship with one Haggas blossoms, his relationship with another is about to come to an end. Doyle's long-time agent Michael is retiring after Champions Day to be replaced by George Baker, and Doyle says: "I'm excited by that, he takes over after Champions Day, although obviously I'm sad to lose Michael. I've been with him six or seven years and it's been an amazing experience for me, he did Walter Swinburn before and William [Buick], he's helped me quite a lot and he has fantastic connections.

"While it will be sad to lose him I'm looking forward to George [Baker – former jockey] doing it, he's a very likeable fella but he doesn't take any nonsense at the same time. Obviously my weight's very important and he understands better than anyone when to trim it down and when to leave it."

Baker's duo: Buick and Doyle relishing new link-up with Classic-winning rider

Michael Haggas has to dip into those contacts one last time however as Doyle is still hoping to pick up a few good spares for is the season-ending meeting. He adds: "I'm a little bit thin on the ground for Champions Day, we're looking for a bit of ground for Addeybb for either the Champion or QEII, but other than that there's not much else I can say I'm definitely on at this point. It's the same with the Breeders' Cup, maybe Charlie might run a couple."

The Breeders' Cup leads to talk of the Melbourne Cup , although he cannot do the weight on the Appleby entries, so once January to March have been spent in Dubai it will all be about finding the next superstars.

"William seems to have some nice two-year-olds, so hopefully a few of them take the leap forward, and Charlie's got plenty of nice horses.

"I rode Quorto on debut and you knew he'd be pretty decent. The good ones you just know, you can half tell just doing a canter, it's the way they use themselves and operate."

And of course there will still be Sea Of Class. "It's so exciting," he says. "I guess the Arc will be the main aim and we'll work backwards from there. The amazing thing about her is if she strengthens like you think she would do, as she's quite a slight filly. Obviously she's got a massive engine and a huge stride but with natural improvement she should be better again."

Asked whether she will have the same problem next year as she had this year, given her need to be dropped out and the almost certain big field at Longchamp, he adds: "Experience will help that. The Arc was the first time she's challenged between horses as most of her races were small fields so we never had the opportunity to do that.

"She's growing up all the time, she should be a different proposition next year. [From her draw] we had to do one thing or the other and she's never going to be a horse you kick out of the gate and make the running on. She'll need cover but she doesn't have to sit that far back, it was only because of the draw that we had no choice."

Doyle ticked off one major career ambition by winning the King George this year and Sea Of Class so nearly helped him achieve another. Add the Derby and you have his holy trinity, otherwise he just wants to win as many Group 1s as he can – and he is finally back in a position to do so.

Being an international Group 1 jockey certainly helps with such an ambition, and he adds: "You want to be seen on the world stage and I have to pinch myself, one weekend I'm riding at Longchamp and the following weekend I'm out here. It's amazing and it's great experience.

"I come here and I'm riding against jockeys I don't usually ride against on a track I've only ridden at once before, so it's very challenging, but it helps you improve. You can pick up bits and pieces wherever you go, there's some fantastic riders here and I'm fascinated by the tactical elements of Australian racing.

"The rules here are much stricter on interference so it's fascinating to watch a horse come from three back on the rail and manoeuvre its way through cleanly without touching another runner, it's wonderful to watch."

Doyle has fallen foul of those stricter rules, picking up a ban on his last two visits to Melbourne, but then his ascent to the top has not been the smoothest – he needs a bump or two to know he is still on the road.

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