'It's been ten months since Mark died and I still come back into the house and think he's here'

When Sara Bradstock describes Mr Vango as a 'Big Friendly Giant' she isn't telling stories. The trainer's arms are barely long enough to pull the rug from her stable star's back such is his towering stature, but she is a very welcome guest in his box at Old Manor Stables in the sleepy village of Letcombe Bassett in Oxfordshire.

"He's so charming and such a harmless fellow," says Bradstock. "He went very cuddly after Mark died and I just think they're very sensitive."  

There is an unmistakable affinity between horse and trainer, especially when a handful of carrots are on offer, and while the ten months since Bradstock said goodbye to her husband Mark for the final time have been draining, it has been Mr Vango and his five stablemates who have carried her through.