‘The bad runs get harder as the years go by - you do everything right and something still comes from the gods to wipe you out'

Waiting at the gates of Jackdaws Castle for the unseen hand to press the sacred buzzer of admittance, it's easy to imagine Jonjo O'Neill as the all-powerful head of one of the mightiest lordships in the kingdom of jump racing.

O'Neill is a legend, after all, and for a quarter of a century he has ruled the roost at Jackdaws, adding 2,500 winners as a trainer to the 900 he rode as a jockey, securing his status at the pinnacle of the game. Today, however, it seems the mighty are, if not quite fallen, at least being reminded of their place.

"I'm off to Wolverhampton for one runner," he explains, freshly spruced for a trip to see Circuit Breaker finish second in a Class 5 handicap on the Flat. "That's what happens when you get a joint licence and you start getting told what to do."