'I wouldn't change a thing' - former rider and Charlton stalwart Steve Raymont bows out

Before Nicky Henderson got his hands on Windsor House, where he started training in 1978, the yard belonged to Roger Charlton. The trainer might now need to cast an eye on Lambourn again to find a replacement for his departing head lad – but he would be unlikely to come across one easily.

Steve Raymont last week brought an end to his career of nearly 50 years in racing, which included an apprenticeship with Jeremy Tree, more than 100 winners in the saddle, riding in some of the world's greatest races and sitting on a certain Dubai Millennium during a five-year spell with Godolphin.

Most of his post-riding career has been spent at Beckhampton, the Wiltshire estate where Charlton, who now trains in partnership with his son Harry, succeeded Tree.