Brendan Powell: 'It was hard when I knew it was going to happen'

The passing of a sporting era is rarely a cue for rejoicing, and at Frenchman's Lodge in Upper Lambourn the final week of Brendan Powell's 13-year tenure has been a curious time. It didn't make the Ten O'Clock News and there was no telegram from the Queen, but the wrench was no less keenly felt for the private nature of the last goodbye.

“The last few days I walked into the yard and it felt strange,” says the 59-year-old, now a former trainer, his 19 seasons of blood, sweat and tears about to beat a slow retreat into history. “The last couple of girls that were with me finished at the weekend, then I went in the next morning and I was there by myself, just me and four horses including a couple of injured ones and one that some guy hasn’t paid for. I was on my own, and that’s a strange feeling after all these years.

"I haven't been on the gallops now for five days, I haven't had that thrill, and I know deep down it won't be the same in the new job. It was hard when I knew it was going to happen, but I'm happy with it now."