'I was going mad, making phone calls to Swiss banks - people started to smell a rat, they wanted their money back'

Many of you will know Richard Hobson as the Cotswolds trainer who broke his long-standing Cheltenham duck when Fugitif landed a last-gasp victory in the December Gold Cup. Which is fine, because he's a talented chap who regularly finds gems among his small string at Bobble Barn Farm.

What you may not know, though, is that, in his 'other job' as a bloodstock agent, he's been instrumental in the careers of some of the finest jumps horses we've ever seen, with an eye for youthful talent that knows few equals.

He may have escaped your notice because most of his best work goes on in France, the country – or at least one of the countries – he grew up in, and where his network of contacts and grasp of the language give him an inbuilt advantage over many of the big-money buyers.