How did you first get involved in ownership?
It was a long time ago!  I first joined up with Clive Graham, who was then the scout in the Daily Express and we had a horse with an extraordinary fellow Doug Marks.  I had a 12^th share and it just progressed from there.  I then had horses with David Morley and then Tim Forster both of whom have now passed away, as did Doug Marks, I wonder whether Kim should watch out!! 

Simon Dow at Epsom also featured and I now have horses with Richard Hannon and an ex-Flat horse, Ocean Pride, who we’ve now sent hurdling with David Pipe.  Plus obviously the two (Sir Brastias and Constantius) I have with Kim.

Tell us more about the Epsom Training & Development Fund which you helped set up?
It’s sad that the horse population has been declining here and one of the key problems has been staffing.  Epsom has become such an expensive place to live that affordable staff accommodation is very hard to find.  The Fund has been set up to help address the problem and so far we have bought one house for staff to live in.  It gives them some privacy and the aim is to get a starter yard with 20 boxes built with some more accommodation.

So over the years which horse has given you the greatest thrill?
I suppose the most rewarding win would have to be when Absonel won the Foodbroker Stakes on the day of my 3^rd daughter’s wedding.  The service was at 2.30pm and the race was at 4.30pm so we all watched it in the marquee.  I decided to have the biggest bet that I’d ever placed and my winnings plus the prizemoney paid for the whole day so it was quite a celebration. 

The funny side story to that is that I’m now married to Val Cracknell.  I’m a widower and she’s a widow and her husband’s business was Foodbroker so the whole thing came full circle.

Which is your favourite racemeeting?
Goodwood is always a favourite and Ascot which still needs to settle down a bit and then also I have Sandown Park up the road which has excellent views.  It’s also where I became the first national serviceman to win the Royal Artillery Gold Cup as an owner.  I had leased Cool Ground for the day but it still counts!

My real hobby though is going racing abroad and I’ve been to 27 countries outside the UK all organised by Horseracing Abroad which is excellent.  I’m about to go to Morocco and I’ll add Malaysia in 2008.   I loved Australia and keep going back to South Africa but the most eventful trip was when we were held up at gunpoint in Brazil last year.  There were four gunmen and two came on board whilst another took our money and other things so that was all a bit more than we had bargained for!!

So how did you get involved with Kim?
Another of Kim’s owners, Tony Solomons, is someone I’ve known for years both through business and as a good friend and he introduced me to Kim.  Simon Dow trained Premier Night, the dam of Sir Brastias and Constantius who broke the 2 mile Flat record on the July Course.  When we went to sell her as a broodmare nobody bought her so we decided to breed from her ourselves. 

Sir Brastias was her first foal and Constantius was her third.  They’re both very different in size, Sir Brastias is much smaller.  Sir B has won and been placed many times and we’re still waiting for Constantius to develop as the mare does tend to produce late maturing types and he is a massive frame of a horse at the moment.