'Martin Pipe has been the foundation of everything I've achieved'

When I was a young boy Dad [Peter Scudamore] was stable jockey at Pond House and I remember him as Dad's boss, a very busy man who used to ride around everywhere on a BMX. I used to work at the yard on my school holidays when I was 15 and 16, riding out in the mornings and doing jobs in the afternoon. Every now and then he would pick me up in his jeep and we'd go and look at horses in the field or he would show me races in the office.

I remember one time when I was at school at Cheltenham and it must have been naivety and the confidence of youth, but I asked him whether he'd win any big races that winter. He said he'd win the Murphy's Gold Cup – he didn't know what with but he'd win it and months later he did with Challenger Du Luc.

There was another time when he had just been sent Olympian and he turned to Dad and said the horse would win at Stratford and get a penalty before going on to land the Imperial Cup and the Coral Cup. It's all very well saying that but he went and did it and seeing how he operated first hand was phenomenal.