Working 15-hour days, sleeping in the office and landing a Group 1 - and it still wasn't enough for poor Adam West

It’s always sad when you hear of people struggling in life but the recent news that Adam West had been suffering a particularly tough time, leading to the trainer moving most of his horses to France, hit hard.

Training racehorses is a tough business whoever you are but it's hard to believe many trainers have worked harder to make it pay than West, who has no background in racing but got a taste for the sport when sweeping the yard in a livery stable in Sussex as a youngster. After moving to Epsom, rising to the role of head lad with Roger Teal and then starting out on his own with a bit of pre-training, he took out his licence in 2016.

Six years after that, an interview in the Racing Post revealed the details of West’s remarkable hand-to-mouth existence, which led to him working 15-hour days before sleeping in his office because he could barely afford the rent on the yard, let alone anywhere to live. Back then, he was just dreaming of that big winner who would make life easier.