'I was very much an introvert - but all of a sudden I was riding all over the place and I had to come out of my shell'
Kevin Darley talks to Andrew Dietz about the horses who shaped his brilliant career
![Kevin Darley: rode Kinnaird](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com%2Fprod-media-racingpost%2Fprod%2Fimages%2F169_1008%2F42c2c18ac2b6-30899.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
In the immaculate home of one-time champion jockey Kevin Darley, just a select few horses adorn the walls. Given the subtlety of the surroundings, Loyd Grossman could confidently ask: "Who would live in a house like this?"
That perhaps wouldn't have been the case at Darley’s previous residence, where the 64-year-old used to have a 'Group 1 wall' decorated with pictures of all his many major achievements, but in the lounge of his new property near Thirsk only two horses take pride of place.
Can you guess which ones? Read on and all will be revealed. For now, though, as the conversation moves to the back of the house, Darley wants to talk about the horse to whom he owes so much.
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Published on inThe Horses Who Made Me
Last updated
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- ‘No-one knew how good she was - but all the owners and quite a few of my friends did. They absolutely smashed into her’
- 'He was no star, but they don't have to be stars to be a star to somebody. He's my favourite horse and always will be'
- 'I was being laughed at for saying I dreamed of winning Classics - then suddenly we did it and never looked back'
- 'Everyone was asking how I stayed on - it was the fear of another bollocking from The Duke!'
- 'We'd have run Moscow in the King George' - Jessica Harrington on Moscow Flyer, Alpha Centauri and the horse who saved her marriage