RIDING winners was never really part of the plan for Lauren Haigh. “I didn’t really decide to become a jockey,” the teenager admits, “Clive Brittain offered me my licence.

“It wasn’t something I had really planned and it was a nice surprise. I always had just wanted to work with horses.”

If the renowned trainer offering the 19-year-old a chance to make her mark as an apprentice was something of a shock, then scooping her first race victory – in only her third ride – was a revelation.

Yarmouth was the track and Manomine was the horse – a three-and-three-quarter length victory over Redoute Star the end result in the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce Apprentice Handicap last week.

“It was a great feeling. I knew he would run a good race, it was whether it was enough to win. When he did I was shocked. That was only my third ride and I never thought I would have a winner that quickly.

“He jumped out, and ran keenly, and just kept going clear. They couldn’t catch me and he kept going until the end. It was really good.”

If it seems like this is all a sudden path to potential stardom, keep reading. Haigh, who grew up in Acomb, York, has actually been with Newmarket-based Brittain for quite a while, ever since graduating from the Northern Racing College in Doncaster.

“I’ve always been riding and going racing since I was very young,” she added. “The NRC sent me to Clive Brittain and I’ve been there ever since – four years in November.

“It’s really good. He has helped me out a lot. I didn’t know a lot when I first went there.

“He recently told me I had been here quite a while, that he thought I was ready to have my licence and he told me how much I had improved over the years I had been there.

“He doesn’t really give many people their licence so it was really good. He has said he is going to try to get me as many rides as he can.”

Race riding is still merely an interesting sideline for the seven-pound claimer, however. An average day sees her start work at 5.30am.

“I ride two lots, have breakfast, ride another two and have a break between 11.30am and 3pm.

“I go back between 3pm and 5pm and brush the horses, feed them, and then go home,” Haigh said.

“I would like to win some more races and if Clive sees a race he said he will talk to me and see whether he will put me in it.

“I enjoy the riding out the most. They are all different on the gallops, you get all different sorts of rides.”

But given that the mere idea of race riding seemed such a long shot just a few months ago, Haigh remains relaxed about what the future holds.

“I am happy to go with the flow,” she said.

“I am relaxed. I hope I can have more winners and still be doing this job in the years to come.”