I HAVE been very fortunate in having such a successful start to my training career, with three-time winner, Shabra’s Bertolini, proving a real stable stalwart in recent months. Hopefully that horse can go on to better things and a trip to Cheltenham may even be on the cards, should he come through a prep run at Ayr on Monday.

My background is primarily with sport horses, having ridden in various classes since the age of 12. My grandmother bred cobs and I learned how to ride when I was very young. Over the years I also helped my uncle with thoroughbred mares although at no stage did I have any involvement with racehorses.