WITH a winner on my first day holding a full licence last month, I couldn’t have asked for a better start. Although I had previously sent out six winners while holding a permit, it was important to get this new venture off to a good start. Thankfully our horses have continued to run right up to form and I am very much looking forward to the coming year.

I became involved in racing through my father. He had worked for Joe McGrath in Glencairn, where Leopardstown racecourse is now situated. He later moved down to the Curragh to work for Charles and Mrs Weld, before spending 35 years employed by the Aga Khan.