Irish jockey Sean Buckley had his first rides in his new job for champion Swedish trainer Michael Kahn last night.
Despite being unplaced on Russian Theatre for his new boss in the #14,000 Duty Time Juvenile Mile at Taby, Buckley is upbeat about the challenge.
He said: 'My Swedish girlfriend, Jenny Hedlund, was working as an apprentice in England but wanted to come back to Sweden, so it made sense for me to go along too.
'I`ve been here for just two weeks but I`m loving it already. Michael Kahn is a nice bloke to work for and Taby is a very good track to ride on.'
Although 26-year-old Buckley rode just six winners as an apprentice in Britain after graduating from the Racing Apprentice Centre of Education on The Curragh in 1991, he came to Sweden with an impressive CV, having worked for a string of leading trainers.
He spent three years with Declan Gillespie in Ireland before joining Lynda Ramsden for two years followed by spells with Les Eyre, Cecil and, most recently, Gerard Butler, who Hedlund also rode for.
Buckley, whose last ride in England was at Newbury in April, added: 'Eric Penser employed me in my last job and I really enjoyed that but now I`m looking forward. I can ride at 7st 13lb and want to start clocking up some winners.'
