'What's the alternative? My head between my knees thinking the world is ending?'
Lambourn correspondent James Burn meets a trainer aiming for the top - again
The significance of David Junior's triumph in the 2006 Dubai Duty Free at the now-defunct Nad Al Sheba won't be lost on anyone with a fetish for racing trivia, and it's not a memory Brian Meehan forgets in a hurry.
In the hands of the ice-cool Jamie Spencer, the four-year-old coasted home, earning £1,744,186, which at the time was the richest prize ever trousered by a British-trained horse, eclipsing the £1,290,418 won by Alkaased in the previous November's Japan Cup and allowing for the conventional wisdom that Saeed bin Suroor's UAE hauls were considered domestic Dubai victories.
"He was a superstar and won the Champion Stakes, a great race to win, the year before," Meehan says.
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- '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'
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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