'I approached cancer the way I did my riding - I don't overthink things'
Lewis Porteous talks to the man with a remarkable Grand National record
It would not be too far-fetched to laud him as a Grand National specialist but Carl Llewellyn is not interested in having his ego massaged; in fact, he could not think of anything worse. Once a jump jockey, always a jump jockey; there are no airs and graces where he is concerned.
Instead, it's a mug of coffee apiece as we sit down in his cosy home in the stone-built Cotswold village of Guiting Power, ready to take a trip down memory lane to a time when you were lucky to get around in a National, never mind win one.
Yet whether it was Aintree, Ayr or Chepstow, Llewellyn had the Midas touch and the man sitting comfortably in his leather recliner is among a select band of riders to have won the Aintree, Welsh and Scottish Grand Nationals.
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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'
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