'He can bring a horse back from almost any injury'

I obviously learned a lot from Nicky Henderson as his pupil assistant, especially on how to train a good horse and how to prepare a young horse to win a bumper without being wired to the moon, but I also learned a huge amount from his head lad Corky Browne.

When I turned up Corky was very quick to instill in me that I would go nowhere without grafting and learning all of the basics at home. He told me almost on day one not to get too excited about going racing for the time being as I'd be covering at home on a Saturday while others did that. I was to learn horse care and stable management almost from A to Z, and Corky was a brilliant teacher.

Legs needed knowing inside out, obviously, but there is nothing Corky doesn't know and he can bring a horse back from almost any sickness or injury. He has a vast wealth of knowledge, which at the start you could only dream of assimilating, but as you progressed he was exceptionally good at letting you have the opportunity to give your own opinion, then crediting you if you were right and putting you right if you were wrong.