VAN Morrison famously sang about “days like this” but for a small trainer such as myself, such days are rare. So, to register a double at Navan last weekend was special, as I only have eight horses in training. It is not often that the right combination of races, horses and conditions present themselves, so when they did on Sunday last it was fantastic to be able to take full advantage.

Racing was never on my radar as a child growing up, in fact it was quite the opposite. Our family were steeped in hurling so whenever horses came on the television on a Saturday there would be a mad dash to change the channel!