'I asked the guy to knock a zero off the price when it was printed in the paper'

Buying racehorses can be a bit of a lottery but leading jumps owner John Hales hit the jackpot on his first attempt with One Man, winner of the 1998 Champion Chase. Jonathan Harding caught up with him to find out how he took his first steps into ownership.

Our family has been involved with horses for years and my daughter Lisa competed in various disciplines long before we won a race. I didn't know a lot about racing but always liked Desert Orchid.

One day I was at Treasure Beach hotel in Barbados, which at the time belonged to John Moreton, owner of 1988 Grand National winner Rhyme 'N' Reason and a nice chaser called Twin Oaks.