'I want racing to be my job, and then I want to leave it behind. We don't talk about it in the house because otherwise you'd never switch off'

It is fair to say Christmas has come early for Gavin Sheehan.

In the space of just two weeks, the 31-year-old jockey has claimed two of Britain's most lucrative handicaps from near-impossible positions. First there was the Coral Gold Cup, in which Datsalrightgino produced a courageous charge through the fog to land the Newbury prize, before the feat was replicated – albeit with a little less margin for error –  in Saturday's December Gold Cup on Fugitif.

Three factors were at the heart of both victories. First, a healthy dose of luck. Sheehan was drafted in for the Coral Gold Cup at the 11th hour due to the cancellation of Newcastle's meeting the night before, while Fugitif was fortunate to avoid disaster when a faller came down in front of him at the fourth-last fence at Cheltenham.