'We tried all different things' - how sour Yorkhill became a rogue reborn

Good jumps horses don't come cheap these days. If you get lucky, a few hundred thousand might buy you the future favourite for a handicap hurdle at Taunton, although as Chas and Dave once said: "No money back, no guarantee."

So when a man walks into your yard and offers you a 164-rated Cheltenham Festival winner for nothing, you have to sit up and take notice. Okay, so the festival win may have been three years ago and the 164 may have shrivelled of late to a more meagre 148 – which may still flatter a creature who appears indifferent to the handicapper's insults – but at that price you can't grumble.

A glance at the form book may tell you that, even at his best, said beast has always had 'a mind of his own', as they say, and time has seemingly done little to take the edge off his orneriness. The numbers in his form have long since been overwhelmed by the letters and his starting prices are now routinely in double figures, but what the heck, what have you got to lose?