MY parents weren’t directly involved in racing when I was very young, although they always had horses in training and would occasionally take me with them to the races. When I was 10 or 11, my mum [Nerys Dutfield] took out her point-to-point trainer’s licence and my interest grew further.

Despite there being eight of us kids in the family, I was the only one to take an interest in the horses and would spend my school holidays mucking out. However, my parents were insistent that I completed my education and went to university before I could start a career in horseracing, “just in case I changed my mind”.