Corky Browne: 'I've had a great run, far better than most in the game'

Much was made of Corky Browne's professional prowess when Nicky Henderson's long-time head lad confirmed last week he would be standing down after four decades. All of it was warranted, yet as homages were paid to the man whose magic hands sustained numerous top-class horses, his most admirable qualities were overlooked.

Browne is uppermost a family man. Raised as such in the rural pastures of County Cork, he never forgot his roots. He still espouses values that have been cast aside, like roadwork and linseed mashes, in the headlong rush to modernity.

An afternoon in his company passes quickly. He has endless stories to tell of great horses, together with those who rode and trained them. But you leave feeling quietly humbled by the hardships borne without complaint by a man who arrived in Britain to work at Fred Winter's all-conquering stable almost 60 years ago.