ON a quiet Monday morning, with the Cheltenham Festival still weeks away but already at the forefront of our minds, Barry Connell opened the gates to his Boherbaun Stables for a look ahead at what the Festival might hold for him this year. For all the pressure that comes with the Festival, Connell’s love of training remains his priority.

“It’s totally addictive,” he says. “I enjoy the whole process. Coming down here in the morning and being with the horses, seeing them on the gallop. Just going into the stable and standing with them.