DESPITE having been fortunate enough to lead up a number of previous winners at the Cheltenham Festival, I got particular satisfaction from seeing Samcro win the Marsh Novices Chase last week. The horse had been written off by many people, so to see him return to form on the day that mattered, gave us all at Gordon Elliott’s a real sense of pride.

My father worked with horses, so I have been around them from as early as I can recall. He was a stable groom in Kevin Prendergast’s on the Curragh. I started going in and out from the age of 10 and worked evenings and weekends from the age of 12 onwards.