'This is our festival and we're going to compete, throw our best darts at it and serve it up to whoever turns up'
Ben Pauling talks to our Lambourn correspondent as he puts together his strongest Cheltenham squad
You couldn't say Ben Pauling is hard to pin down, but he is certainly in demand. By the time he sits down for a chat with the Racing Post, his morning has already involved Nick Luck's podcast and an interview with Sky Sports Racing.
Anyone who has dealt with Pauling since he started training in 2013 will recognise a willing and engaging subject, so it's no surprise he is a go-to trainer for the media – especially as he had hogged headlines the previous weekend with a treble at Ascot.
"It's different from how it was, but I'm getting older," he replies when asked what celebrations were like. "I took the staff down the pub for a few drinks, but we're much busier now, so writing ourselves off for three days isn't great."
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Published on inInterviews
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- 'It's tough financially and last year I said I might get a job driving a lorry instead - although to be fair I'd probably crash!'
- 'I'm not here to tell people how to train but if you hide something from me, I'm gone, I'm done - and you won't see me again'
- 'I had to fly back from Saudi on the day for the awards before flying back the following day but it really was a great evening'