Foxhunter heartache and the unrivalled high-octane thrill of the Champion Chase

Eyewitness tales

Racing Post northern correspondent Colin Russell recalls the 1982 Foxhunter, in which he had a close personal involvement

Back in the 1980s when I was working as a race-reader for Phil Bull's Timeform my wife Trish and I were lucky enough to have a horse with a live chance of winning a race on Cheltenham Gold Cup day.

Ours was a true backyard operation, just two horses stabled outside our backdoor. We had no licence and not even a permit as you didn't need one to compete in hunter chases, and certainly no gallops, but thanks to Mick Easterby we had access to one of the first all-weathers in the area.