BREEDING a Gold Cup winner is the ultimate ambition for anyone involved in that aspect of National Hunt racing. So, to see Minella Indo, a horse I sold as a foal, go on to win the blue riband at last week’s Cheltenham Festival really was a dream come through. Having grown up in the hunting/point-to-point scene, it really doesn’t get any better for a diehard jumping aficionado.

I was born into a staunch National Hunt family in Worcester. Our involvement in breeding thoroughbreds went back three or four generations, with a number of winners during that period.