'Everything would have been a lot more difficult without him, that's for sure'

I have no doubt that David Oldrey's support in terms of counsel and horseflesh has been a big factor in getting us to the size of operation we are now. He's an enduringly popular man who has had horses since the early 1960s – and I think I'm right in saying he's only ever had two trainers, Peter Walwyn and me.

He owned a lot of good horses such as Oats and Halsbury in the 1970s and 80s. I didn't meet him until I went to work for Peter in 1996 but when Peter retired I inherited five horses, three of whom were owned by David. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have worked without him and some of the owner-breeders who came to us later on came because we had David's patronage.

I trained my first ever winner for him – Order in a Huntingdon bumper on January 27, 2000 – but more importantly, he's always been a great sounding board. His real trick is being able to to get to the heart of an issue or a problem and seeing it in a way in which most of us are incapable. For that reason he has always been the first person I've looked to for advice on a big decision.