I first got into it through spending Saturdays at my grandparents while my parents were at work; my grandad used to have a flutter on the ITV7 every weekend. He died when I was single figures though, so a lot of my interest carried on through my general love of horses. The first racehorse I can remember who really captured my imagination was Spartan Missile. My parents weren't horsey in the slightest so there was never any scope for a pony when I was a child, so my friend and I used to play 'riding schools' through the holidays, prancing round on our imaginary horses and jumping old milk crates. I always had a Spartan Missile in my stable...in my world he won the National.
From there I spent a few years loving both codes equally, following Henry Cecil's stable through the Cauthen years while spending the winters enjoying the delights of Run 'N' Skip, Lefrak City etc, before my interest in jumps waned and I became more of a Flat fan, with a particular interest in breeding. Around the turn of the millennium I rediscovered my love of NH and that has probably overtaken the Flat again, although I have enjoyed the last couple of Flat seasons more than I have for some years. I worked in the industry for a few years (backroom not stable staff) but there was little in the way of career development so I left to work somewhere more structured and simply enjoy it as a hobby again. I'm not a punter or a serious form student and I'm too sentimental to be successful at it, it has always been about the horses in and of themselves for me, although I do enjoy the odd flutter for fun when I'm at the races.
From there I spent a few years loving both codes equally, following Henry Cecil's stable through the Cauthen years while spending the winters enjoying the delights of Run 'N' Skip, Lefrak City etc, before my interest in jumps waned and I became more of a Flat fan, with a particular interest in breeding. Around the turn of the millennium I rediscovered my love of NH and that has probably overtaken the Flat again, although I have enjoyed the last couple of Flat seasons more than I have for some years. I worked in the industry for a few years (backroom not stable staff) but there was little in the way of career development so I left to work somewhere more structured and simply enjoy it as a hobby again. I'm not a punter or a serious form student and I'm too sentimental to be successful at it, it has always been about the horses in and of themselves for me, although I do enjoy the odd flutter for fun when I'm at the races.
