I'm so sorry to see you go, Joe - and your plight makes me despair for racing

I'm feeling a bit sad.

I'm feeling this way because last week I got a call from my friend Joe Tuite to say he was stopping training. It was both a complete shock and not really a shock at all, if that doesn't sound contradictory.

When his name flashed up on my phone I thought he was calling to provide an update on the two fillies we had in training with him, but after the usual pleasantries he rushed through with the line: "Peter, I'm quitting training."