'I live and breathe racing' - Lucy Smith on the joy of training

It is surreal to interview Lucy Smith, given that nearly 50 years ago her father, three-time champion jockey Terry Biddlecombe, was an early influence on my interest in racing.

The 25p each-way bet placed for me on the Biddlecombe-ridden Gay Trip in the 1972 Grand National may have sparked my awareness. The fences were huge, Gay Trip finished second, and my first non-footballing hero was created.

Several years ago, Smith, the jockey’s youngest child by his second marriage to Ann Hodgson, emerged on the point-to-point scene, and last season became entrusted with training Clive Bennett's small string of horses in Gloucestershire.