Harry Cobden: ‘Some jockeys go home and play on the Playstation - I go home and play on the farm’

After explaining in detail how to access Willow Bank Farm from the A37, Harry Cobden apologises that he will be a few minutes late for our afternoon appointment.

"I've had a good day and bought a few animals," he says. "If you go to the house, my mum will put the kettle on."

Cobden's mother is indeed ready and waiting to provide hot drinks in a Somerset country kitchen that boasts an Aga, a water-filled pan of peeled potatoes and countless pictures of a young jockey jumping fences and winning races. At the age of 25, and following much parental encouragement, that jockey is finally about to leave home. That said, his new base will be no more than a short hop down the road, thus allowing him to remain close to motherly services and the family farm.