'When I bought her we needed a boost, and she really gave us a boost'

Jonnie Skull

What a horse he was for us – he won 21 races, was second or third 47 times, was placed from five furlongs up to a mile and a half and he even won a novice hurdle at Stratford by 42 lengths. Jack Quinlan came back and said: "When I looked round I thought I'd taken the wrong course!" He had a great following at Yarmouth, where he won seven races, and he was a wonderful, reliable old soul, a great servant to us and nothing short of a family pet.

Baytown Kestrel

At the time I bought her we needed a boost, and she really gave us one. She cost just £400 from Ascot sales and six weeks later she made a winning debut at Lingfield at 50-1 – we had it right off and she practically cleared all our debts. Then she went to Royal Ascot; she didn't win but she raised our profile dramatically, Channel 4 came to do a piece on her and she gave us headlines. She made a big difference to my career.