Western Roots was very special, as he gave me my first winner in August 2008 when I started out as an amateur rider, and doubly special as that win came at Newbury, which was my local track. I had spent some time in France working for Richard Gibson, and it was for him that I had my initial race-riding experience, with a couple of rides at Fontainebleau.

My aunt is married to Patrick Chamings, and he was instrumental in getting me started here, giving me my first flat ride in Britain at Salisbury, and recommending me to Andrew Balding. Pat had been assistant trainer to Andrew’s father, Ian, so that was a useful connection to make. Western Roots, who arrived at Kingsclere with Mick Appleby when Mick did a stint as head man, ran in Ian’s famous turquoise and brown colours at Newbury.

LIFE AT SEVEN BARROWS

I joined the team at Seven Barrows in 2009, but I was under no illusions that I would get immediate opportunities and needed to be very patient. In fact, I had to wait until January 2012 for my first winner for the boss, which came in an all-weather handicap at Southwell on a filly called Sistine, but was quickly followed by the opportunity to ride Barbers Shop. I won a couple of hunter chases on him at Fakenham and Fontwell. He’d been a high-class performer in his time, finishing third to Kauto Star in the King George, and running in the Gold Cup, so it was great to be associated with a high-profile performer and that he was owned by the Queen added to that. He taught me a lot, giving me experience of how a good horse should travel and jump and also gave me my first taste of the Cheltenham Festival when running in the Foxhunter later that spring, so was instrumental in my development, and kept me going.

Petit Robin is the horse who really put me on the map, I feel. He was owned by the Knoxes, who were supporters of mine in point-to-points, and they kindly offered me the chance to claim off him when he had top weight in a listed handicap hurdle on Tingle Creek day at Sandown in December 2012. He proved very courageous and we won in a driving finish by a nose, after which I was allowed to keep the ride when he was second in the Ladbroke Hurdle at Ascot and then fourth in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury.

I’d been riding him out at the time he sustained a bad injury in a fall in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot behind Master Minded, so knew him very well, and we had been trying since to get his confidence back over hurdles. Like Barbers Shop, he was very experienced, very straightforward, and taught me the ropes of race-riding.

BIG BREAK

I’d not had much opportunity to get noticed on the track until Petit Robin came along, so to get rides in some of the biggest handicap hurdles of the season was a big deal. This led directly to me getting the mount on Carruthers, as Mark and Sara Bradstock were impressed enough by what they saw in the Ladbroke to offer me the ride on the 2011 Hennessy winner a few days later. That was at Ffos Las in bottomless ground, and again they just wanted to ease the burden of top weight. We ended up winning nicely, and I was again on board when he won the West Wales National there a few weeks later. That helped forge a link with the Bradstocks, which was to bear greater fruit in the future, so I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity he gave me.

Around the same time, I had the great privilege of riding Long Run and Sprinter Sacre first and second lot at home and riding such good horses each day can only have a positive benefit. I’m reluctant to name Long Run in my list, as I consider him to be very much Tom Symonds’ project, and I only inherited the opportunity to ride him out when Tom left to set up on his own. That said, it was a great experience, and the fact that people identified me as the man who exercised him and Sprinter Sacre really helped to put my name out there.

SCHOOLING A CHAMPION

Sprinter Sacre was a fantastic horse to be around, always buzzy, full of life and full of energy, and I was lucky enough to ride work and school him from a formative stage.

I did most of his schooling as Barry Geraghty couldn’t come over that often and, if anything, he was even more exciting to school than he was to ride in a race, as he was so fresh; as soon as you’d turn down to the five schooling fences at Seven Barrows, he just used to take off, and all you could do was hold on. I’d obviously ridden some very decent horses at Seven Barrows, but he was different, and the one who taught me what a really good horse felt like. I obviously wasn’t riding him on the track, but just to watch Barry aboard him, particularly in the season where he was untouchable, winning everything including his first Champion Chase was an incredible experience.

I was lucky enough to be at Punchestown when he won there, as I had a ride in the next race, the Goffs Land Rover bumper for Don Cantillon, and it was an amazing occasion, and a memory I’ll always treasure.

To be associated with Sprinter at his peak was almost untouchable but then came the opportunity to be part of his comeback. He pulled up with a heart problem at Kempton in December 2013 and the general perception was that he’d never be the same. The day he regained his Champion Chase crown disproved that, and was a very special occasion but I always pinpoint the day he won the Shloer Chase earlier that season as the day he stamped his authority again.

You expect a huge roar at the Cheltenham Festival, but the reception we got when we came back to the winner’s enclosure on that November day really was something else. It shows you how the public take these great champions to heart, especially when they’ve been down and come back. It’s a bit like boxing in that regard, I suppose – taking a beating but coming back stronger is what sets real champions apart in the eyes of the people.

Nico de Boinville (Pic Steven Cargill / Racingfotos.com)

CONEYGREE

Getting the ride on Carruthers, as I’ve said, was a big boost to me at a crucial time but it also opened the door for me to ride his half-brother Coneygree and that association has been hugely important to me. Like Carruthers, Coneygree is trained and part-owned by the Bradstocks and when he went novice chasing, they very kindly offered me the chance to ride him.

It started badly when one of the vets at Plumpton erroneously thought he was lame and had him withdrawn on what was to be his chase debut but that might have been a blessing in disguise in hindsight. He then had little option but to go to Newbury the following week where he won a Grade 2 nicely, and then went on to land the Kauto Star on King George day, which gave me my first success in a Grade 1.

Unfortunately, I got myself banned when he ran in the Denman Chase back at Newbury, where Richard Johnson took over. He scored so emphatically there that Sara and Mark [Bradstock] decided that they would commit him to the Gold Cup and thank God they did, and thank God they decided to let me keep the ride. Once a jockey of Richard’s calibre comes in for the ride on a horse in that scenario, it’s hard to break that partnership, and not many trainers would agree to let a claimer ride their horse in the Gold Cup. I know I was very fortunate that I was allowed to maintain my partnership with Coneygree and they showed a hell of a lot of faith in me in the circumstances, which happily paid off when we won at Cheltenham.

As well as their loyalty, the Bradstocks deserve praise for their single-mindedness. In the Bradstock household, reaching a decision might be a colourful process but once it’s been made it is unshakeable, and that is a great trait to have. Coneygree was a horse who had already missed a season with injury, and they had a really clean run with him as a novice chaser, which they had never had before, and decided that his best chance of glory was to strike when he was at his peak, rather than wait a year and risk him getting a setback.

Novices don’t have a good record in the Gold Cup, but he didn’t run or jump like a novice, and he won the Denman in open company so convincingly that it almost gave them no option but to go for the Gold Cup. It caused controversy at the time, and they were mocked for it, but thankfully for me they are totally independent minded, and there was never going to be any turning back, either on the horse’s target, or his jockey.

Nico de Boinville is racing ambassador for Unibet and was in conversation with Rory Delargy.

Nico de Boinville (Pic Steven Cargill / Racingfotos.com)