'The longer you go without a festival winner, the further it gets away from you'
The top jockey speaks to Jonathan Harding ahead of the Cheltenham Festival
An early meeting over breakfast in the Pheasant Inn near Lambourn may not immediately strike as a fertile environment for profound declarations, but Adrian Heskin wastes little time in delivering one.
"The longer you go without a winner at the Cheltenham Festival, the further it seems to get away from you," opines the jockey, who has first-hand experience of the highs and lows of the sport's big dance.
Heskin, 29, finishes his plate of salmon and eggs – well earned after schooling four horses for Harry Whittington at an ungodly hour – and takes us back to the beginning with his breakthrough victory in 2010.
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- '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’
- 'He must have his breakfast earlier than Willie does' - Patrick Mullins goes behind enemy lines at Gordon Elliott's yard