Paul Nicholls: 'That Cheltenham Festival was the turning point - I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for those horses'

Paul Nicholls sits down at a table in a Shepton Mallet pub armed with a book in his hand and a head full of horses.

Towards the back of the stable's 2023-24 brochure is a list of the 145 Grade 1 wins achieved by the 14-time champion trainer before this season. The long roll call of top-flight success provides an aide memoire as Nicholls sets out to talk about the equine marvels who have played the biggest part in shaping his life. For a man who loves talking about horses, it is a pleasure, not a chore, his enthusiasm for the mission tempered only by an acknowledgement that it's difficult to know where to start.

"You can't really have favourites," says the 61-year-old, although it will come as no surprise that one particularly celebrated star forged a place deeper in his heart than any other. To begin with, however, we make things simple by returning to his days as a rider.