'I'm getting that nice, nervous feeling. Nothing untoward, more anticipation'

Those who believe in fate will find resonance in a formative experience from Jon Pullin’s childhood. The man who succeeded Simon Claisse as clerk of the course at Cheltenham might never have embraced racing but for a chance encounter with a girl across the street from his home in Worcestershire.

Pullin’s family had no interest in horses, much less racing. So there was no particular reason for him to stop his bicycle and introduce himself to the girl with her pony on the end of a lead rein.

“I was 12 at the time,” Pullin recalls. “I patted the pony and the girl asked me if I wanted a go [in the saddle]. I jumped up and was bitten by the bug there and then.”