'A great friend to me when I needed it most'

I've been lucky enough to meet a load of different people who have been important to me at different stages of my life. John Oxx was one when I first came up to the Curragh, and when I started out Mick Kinane was champion jockey and he was someone to strive towards. He was a big influence – he was going over to England and winning all the big races, so I wanted to be like him.

Michael Osborne receives his Irish racing Hall of Fame trophy from Christy Grassick (left)Credit: Peter Mooney

But Michael Osborne was a great friend to me, very influential when I first went to Dubai, where he was a major figure, often described as the architect of the Dubai World Cup. I'd known him for quite a while – he was general manager of Kildangan Stud at a time when John Oxx had horses for Sheikh Mohammed, so I got to meet him on a few occasions.

Then he properly came into my life at a time when I really needed it most. I was going to Dubai and he knew I could be a bit wild – everyone knows my story! – and I needed to keep busy. For example, they only race twice a week in Dubai and he started me playing golf in my spare time, got me a golf lesson every week for three months.