'Our house burnt down - and the Gold Cup was definitely the thing I was most upset to lose as it took four years and two noses to win'

Francois Doumen enters his Paris apartment and points to a beautiful three-horse sculpture on a table by the front door. He gazes lovingly at the artwork before gently stroking the back of the animal at its centre. It is because of what that warrior achieved on a glorious day 30 years ago that Doumen is soon to return to the Cheltenham Festival.

"What a masterpiece," says Doumen, his hand still resting lightly on the bronze homage to The Fellow, the indefatigable stalwart who in 1994 became France's first winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The historic success, achieved at the great chaser's fourth attempt and after two short-head seconds, will be remembered when Doumen revisits a racecourse dear to his heart. It is not, however, the only reason he will make what was once an annual pilgrimage. Talking about the other motivation for the trip will soon leave him fighting back tears.

The event that left Doumen and wife Elizabeth devastated had not been discussed over an otherwise entirely happy lunch. Sea bass, magret de canard and tarte tatin were all enjoyed at a smart restaurant with red leather seats in the sixth arrondissement. Elizabeth Doumen set off for an appointment before coffee, leaving her husband and interviewer to make the short walk to a flat that can only be reached after climbing many stairs. For an 83-year-old with troublesome hips, it is not an easy journey. Even harder was one made on a wretched Monday last August.