'They are as exciting as any horse we've had here - it's what everyone wants'
The top jockey and key player at Closutton reflects on a huge season ahead
Ever been kicked in the balls? There are those few seconds of terrible suspense when you know you’ve been hit but there’s no pain and you hope maybe, please God, they were only glanced. But then the sickening pain creeps into your stomach.
That’s what it was like in the time between looking at Monkfish’s leg and waiting for a vet to confirm it. Losing him, the top staying novice hurdler and then top staying novice chaser at Cheltenham, before the season even begins is . . . well, it’s a kick in the balls, to be frank.
It does, however, save Paul Townend from having to decide whether to desert his dual Gold Cup-winning partner, Al Boum Photo.
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Published on inSeries
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- We believed Dancing Brave could fly - and then he took off to prove it
- 'Don't wind up bookmakers - you might feel clever but your accounts won't last'
- 'There wouldn't be a day I don't think about those boys and their families'
- 'You want a bit of noise, a bit of life - and you have to be fair to punters'
- 'I take flak and it frustrates me - but I'm not going to wreck another horse'