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The day Mattie Batchelor belted out Roxanne while jumping the Chair

Horses and jockeys soar over the Chair in the 2009 Topham
Horses and jockeys soar over the Chair in the 2009 TophamCredit: Mark Cranham

Jump jockey Mattie Batchelor recently did his best impression of an after-dinner speaker at a National Association of Racing Staff meeting in Newmarket, where students of the British Racing School were present to hear tales of his career in the saddle.

Unsurprisingly, Batchelor didn't go to a racing school to learn his trade but came up an alternative route that kicked off at the 'university of life' otherwise known as the Moore family.

He said: "As a kid all I wanted to do was play for Brighton and Hove Albion but we went on a family holiday to Ireland and went horse riding. Afterwards the chap who ran it said I was a bit of a natural. Believe me, that is the first and only time anyone has called me a natural at anything!"

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Newmarket correspondent

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