When did you first get involved in racing?

I used to go racing with my mother when I was a child, and I always loved it. My father lived quite near Newmarket, so we’d go racing there. When I moved to America in the 1990s I got more involved. I was a co-owner of a horse called Society’s Chairman who won a Grade 3 at Gulfstream Park.

He ended up qualifying for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Mile, which was a very exciting day in 2010. We got beat by Goldikova, and there’s no shame in that. It was a double-edged sword really, it was more or less downhill until Maltese Cross came along.

We had our first winner in my colours in a class 4 race at Bath about five years ago with Moonspirit. She won six or seven times for me, and she’s a broodmare now.

Have you got many broodmares?

I’ve got three, all horses that ran for me, Eleutheromania, Moonspirit and Bacor. I’ve got a Mehmas yearling, a Ghaiyyath foal, and a Palace Pier foal. All three of those mares are in foal again - Moonspirit again to Ghaiyyath, and then other two are in foal to Pinatubo.

Having a homebred is probably the purest way of winning in this sport. I haven’t experienced it yet but I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully they turn out alright.

How did buying Maltese Cross come about?

Sam Haggas has bought every single one of my horses so far. Gavin Chengalanee who helps me manage everything, the three of us sat down, and we’d been knocking around in Book 2 and 3, and I thought we should have a go at Book 1 at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Sam bought five horses for me there, and the Sea The Stars colt, who became Maltese Cross, was one of those horses. We talked about wanting a middle-distance horse, because we’d only had horses that ran six to eight furlongs, and he fit the bill.

Sam really liked his pedigree.

His dam, Nabatea, comes from a very strong staying family, and her sire is Camelot so it turned out to be a really good cross.

Did he show signs early on that he could be something special?

I split my horses between William Haggas and George Boughey, and they all went to Malcom Bastard for pre-training. Malcom saw something in him quite early, which William confirmed. He was really, really happy with what he saw. William is very patient with his horses, so he didn’t run until the end of his two-year-old season.

He debuted at Ascot and ran very nicely under hands and heels to finish second to a horse that had won before. Everybody was very pleased with that performance. Next time out he ran in a hot maiden at Newmarket where he beat a Godolphin horse called Del Maro. He showed the signs there of being, potentially, a very good horse. I also had a St Mark’s Basilica filly with George who ran at that same Ascot meeting, (El Vamos) and she absolutely jetted up, so we went into that winter thinking we could have an Oaks horse and a Derby horse.

We waited 205 days for Maltese Cross to reappear at Newbury. He’s got a lot of the Sea The Stars traits in him, he never really won by much. We won at Newbury narrowly, and then we went to the Lingfield Derby Trial, and we won that narrowly, and then of course we came second in the Derby which was an unbelievable thrill.

Tell us about the Derby, he ran a great race.

It was raining for a week before the Derby and it poured with rain on the day. We were drawn in stall one, which it affectionately known as the coffin draw, and despite all of that, he ran an absolute cracker of a race.

It really showed his class on ground that he didn’t like at all. We were so thrilled with him, and then William thought that the Grand Prix de Paris was a good next step for him. He was probably a row too far back coming into the final furlong.

Tom Marquand tried to get him out a couple of times and, eventually, switched back inside and found a gap. He just rocketed through that gap, it was an unbelievable turn of foot. Tom had always felt that Maltese Cross had another gear, and he found that in Paris.

We went to York for the Great Voltigeur with high expectations despite the 5lb penalty, and I was absolutely delighted that Christmas Day was also declared to run. I really felt that on a level playing field that we could beat him, and we did so, emphatically.

That was probably his best performance. It was the first time he’d won with some daylight too which was quite a relief to his owner! Tom got off him and just said: ‘Wow, this horse is something else.’

How did you get involved with William and George?

I started with Sam, and all of our horses went to George, who he is also very good friends with. People kept telling me not to have all of my eggs in one basket, because if something went wrong in one yard, all of my horses would be affected so I spoke to Sam about giving a few horses to William.

It was nothing to do with George’s performance as a trainer, and I have great relationships with both trainers. It’s different of course, George is the new kid on the block and William is the old hand, but I enjoy both of the relationships very much.

I’ve been very lucky with the people that I surround myself with in racing. I’m exceedingly grateful to Gav for introducing me to Sam, he’s so knowledgeable and no question is too stupid for him.

I suppose you’re eyeing up a few more big targets?

We had a really difficult decision to make between going to the St Leger and the Arc, and we gave it an enormous amount of thought. The chance to win a British classic, it’s unbelievable to even be in the conversation, but at the same time, being in the conversation for the Arc is also exciting.

We felt that with the travelling up to York, and the performance he put in, that an extra couple of weeks before his next run would be best for him, and that’s how we made our decision. We want to look after our boy, so we chose to go to the Arc.

All going well, would a stallion career be on the cards later down the line?

That would be a dream come true. I think he’s going to have to prove himself in the Arc and in his four-year-old season, but it is a very exciting thought to have in the back of one’s head.

Sam was at the sales on Tuesday, and we are keeping an eye out for some fillies that would be a good match for him eventually. It’s thrilling, but we’re just concentrating on his racing career at the moment.

Do you get nervous watching your horses run, especially when the stakes are so high?

I do and I don’t. I find the wait between races quite excruciating, so I’m probably more excited than nervous on race days. I was probably more nervous in York than I’ve been.

My expectations weren’t particularly high for the Derby because the conditions didn’t go our way, but at York with Christmas Day, I really wanted our boy to show everyone who the best horse is. As an owner you get so protective of your horses, you really care about their self-confidence and wellbeing.

If you could describe your time in racing as a film, what would it be?

Seabiscuit!