Big plans start with hat-trick bid for speed freak Take Cover

David Griffiths is a man with a plan. Surveying the leafy surroundings of his tranquil yard, perched on the edge of the affluent market town of Bawtry in South Yorkshire, he can see the future as clear as day.

His family’s cosy three-bed bungalow at the nucleus of the stable is destined to make way for a five-bed house, the 30 boxes currently housing 20 horses would ideally expand to 50, while a new six-furlong gallop is already in the pipeline.

That blueprint of tomorrow is never far from his thoughts and after a couple of hours in his company, you fancy it is a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ the ambitious former rider brings his masterplan to fruition.