Focus firmly on now for trainer who was toast of Cheltenham 25 years ago
Julian Muscat meets the man who landed a historic festival double in 1995
There are no prizes for guessing Paul Nicholls and Willie Mullins are among three practising trainers to have won the Champion Hurdle, Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National.
It took Nicholls 21 years to complete jumps racing’s ‘holy trinity’, and Mullins a further ten. But they were beaten to the milestone by Kim Bailey, who captured it 19 years after he started training in 1976.
Bailey was 36 when Mr Frisk breezed to Aintree glory under a bright Spring sun. He was five years older when he plundered the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup at a festival punctuated by atrocious weather in 1995. Should similar conditions settle over the Cotswolds next week you would expect him to meander down memory lane at his outlandish achievement 25 years ago.
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- It's been a quarter of a century since we started - here's how we've seen the sport we love change
- 'You can see why people end up struggling - when you're trying to pay the electric bill, losing one ride can be massive'
- 'I've never paid six figures for a horse and never will - I learned pretty quickly you're only one phone call away from f*** all'
- 'I’ve trained some fabulous horses, worked with some excellent riders - maybe I have brought a little bit of talent to the table as well'
- ‘When you’re in the moment and you’re starved, you’re ready to explode - everything built up and I just lost my s**t’