Leading jockey Kielan Woods is in the form of his life.

The recently-turned 30-year-old has already gone past last season’s career best number of winners and he’s looking for many more in the weeks and months ahead.

The big November Meeting at Cheltenham Racecourse – Friday 11^th November to Sunday 13^th November – is not too far away, of course, and it’s certainly full steam ahead for Woods.

Last season was a good one for Woods, his first as stable jockey for Cotswolds trainer Ben Pauling, as he clocked up 33 winners.

But this one has been much better, so much so that he is now up among the leading jockeys in the country.

“This season has been unbelievable so far, it’s been a fantastic start,” Woods told The Local Answer. “Ben’s horses have been absolutely flying, it’s been brilliant.”

He’s also ridden a fair number of winners for Fergal O’Brien, another in-form Cotswolds trainer who has been notching winners for fun, while DJ Jeffreys and Alex Hales have also been big supporters.

“I’ve been very lucky, I’ve been given some great horses to ride,” said Woods.

That is undoubtedly true, but it’s equally true to say that as a jockey you’ve got to make the most of those opportunities and Woods has certainly been doing just that.

But while the winners have been flowing over the past few months, the Kielan Woods story is not a tale of overnight success.

Quite the opposite, in fact. Hard work and dedication, allied to his obvious talent, have got him to where he is today, but along the way he has had a lot of setbacks, most notably injuries, that have at times tested him to the limit.

Born in Athlone, a town in the centre of Ireland, he first jumped on a pony at the age of four or five.

And as with all good horsemen and women it was something he took to very naturally, which was a good job because school most certainly wasn’t for him.

“Horrendous,” he says with a laugh when you ask him about his time at school, adding, “I left when I’d just turned 16, I should have left six years earlier!”

But even at the age of 16 it was obvious that Woods had the ability to carve out a career in racing.

He rode more than 70 winners on the pony racing circuit in his native Ireland before launching his career under rules with a winner in November 2009.

“It was my first race,” he said with some pride. “It was Heroes Square at Thurles Racecourse, I hit the ground running.”

The trainer was Caroline Hutchinson and he went on to ride a couple of winners for Paul Flynn, also in Ireland, before he was presented with an opportunity that was to change his life.

Woods takes up the story.

“I was on the gallops one morning and Paul [Flynn] said, ‘Do you want to go to England?’.

“It was something I’d never thought about but before I could say anything Paul added, ‘I’ve got you a job with Philip Hobbs, you start on Monday’.”

As it happens Woods, who was in his late teens, went to Charlie Longsdon’s stable instead and, as he had done in Ireland, he hit the ground running because he won two of his first three races.

“I was with Charlie for four years, I rode out my claim with him, he was brilliant,” recalled Woods.

Longsdon is just one of a number of trainers with whom the articulate Woods has built up a good relationship over the years, something that was to stand him in good stead during his years as a freelance jockey before linking up with Pauling.

“Pam Sly was brilliant for me, she gave a me a lot of rides,” said Woods. “Then Ben Case and Alex Hales started giving me rides as well, I was very lucky.”

And it was Case who gave Woods his first really big winner when the 66-1 Croco Bay won the Grand Annual Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March 2019.

“That was a horse of a lifetime for me, my first Festival winner,” said Woods. “He was a big outsider, Ben was brilliant for me.”

Three years later Woods repeated his Grand Annual success and again it was on an outsider, this time the 28-1 Global Citizen.

“I’ve never won on the favourite,” he joked. “It was brilliant because it was my first season as stable jockey for Ben so it was great for him as well.

“I’d got injured at the start of the season, then rode a few winners, then got injured again. It was stop-start so to end the season with a Festival winner was brilliant.”

And there was even better to come for Woods because a month later he rode his first Grade 1 winner, steering the Alex Hales-trained Millers Bank to victory in the Novices’ Chase at Aintree.

“That’s my biggest victory so far,” said Woods, who would like to double last season’s tally of winners this time around.

“I think that’s a realistic target,” he said. “Obviously I’d like to ride 100, 150 winners but I don’t really like to set targets, I just want to achieve everything I can.”

And with the progressive Pauling behind him there’s every likelihood that the good times are here to stay for Woods, who lives in Bourton-on-the-Water, just a few miles from Pauling’s new stable at Naunton Downs.

“It’s very exciting,” said Woods. “He’s built a new stable and he’s got some gorgeous horses. The owners are great, it’s absolutely brilliant.”

And Woods is a big fan of Cheltenham Racecourse as well.

“When I was growing up and when I knew I wanted to be a National Hunt jockey, I always pictured winning at Cheltenham,” he said.

“Any winner at Cheltenham is special, everyone gets a kick out of riding winners there.

“There’s always a big crowd, they are proper National Hunt fans. They appreciate National Hunt horses but they also have a good time.”

Woods has never won at Cheltenham in November and that’s something he’d definitely like to put right. “I’ve had a few close 2nds in handicap races,” he said.

The way things are going you certainly wouldn’t bet against him notching a winner or two in a couple of weeks’ time and victory is always just that little bit sweeter for someone who has fought to get to where he is today.

“It hasn’t been easy, I’ve had to work hard,” said Woods, who now has more than 300 winners to his name.

“There have been plenty of disappointing days, plenty of hardship but you can’t get on a horse without expecting to get an injury at some stage.

“If you can’t take the knocks then you are in the wrong sport. When you are injured it’s all about getting back as soon as possible.

“It’s not the injury that hurts, it is the not being able to ride.”

Woods has had a succession of injuries over the years including to his hip, pelvis and leg that have forced him on the sidelines for lengthy periods.

However, he has always tried to remain upbeat.

“I remember one of the coaches at apprenticeship school telling me that you’re not a proper National Hunt jockey until you reach 30,” he said.

“He said you weren’t physically strong enough until you are 30.”

Woods, who is married to Christy, celebrated his 30^th birthday on 12^th October and he most definitely is a proper National Hunt jockey.

And it looks certain that his best years are still to come.