Julie Wood: 'Winning the Super Sprint made it seem like everything was possible'

Julie Wood, the owner of former Richard Hannon-trained stars Strong Suit, Olympic Glory and Zebedee speaks to Peter Thomas about her surprise venture into ownership and cashing in on some of her finest assets.

I remember how it all started. It was the 2000 Lambourn Open Day, we went to Rupert Arnold's yard and as we walked in a gust of wind took my hat off, Rupert caught it and we struck up a conversation. He said he had an unbroken two-year-old for sale and we left it at that, until a few weeks later my husband Chris said we should go back there and thank him for his hospitality.

When we went to the colt's box, it had my name on it as the owner and the name Credenza Moment, which was what I'd told Chris I'd call a horse if I had one (named after late-night conversations between the couple as they mulled over whether or not to buy themselves a credenza – a posh sideboard, in case you were wondering). It turned out Chris had bought it for me as a surprise birthday gift, which made it a very emotional moment.