'I've been prepared to put my balls on the line. Sometimes things have worked out. Sometimes they haven't'

Karl Burke struck with Holloway Boy on the Sprint Cup card at Haydock on Saturday and we had a big interview with the top trainer last month. The interview, first published exclusively for Racing Post Members' Club subscribers on August 11, is now free to read below.

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As Karl Burke completes the telling of yet another gripping story, any one of which could serve as the plotline to a primetime television drama, he quite reasonably observes it is little wonder his head is rather lacking in hair.

Fortuitously, his recent confrontation with cancer and chemotherapy did not result in further thinning on top. That is just as well, given the many traumatic episodes previously encountered, endured but survived by the former journeyman jump jockey who now stands indisputably as the north's number one Flat trainer. 

There was the drama of his sudden arrest by the City of London Police, the one-year BHA ban that eventually followed and then, worse and more frightening than either of those, the disastrous decision that led to his being pursued by loan sharks with very big teeth. That last chapter in Burke's life threatened to leave him homeless, penniless and robbed of a career that since those travails has blossomed magnificently. It has been a rollercoaster ride of extreme proportions.

"I should write a book," he says, proposing an idea that has considerable merit, not least because it would conclude with an extremely happy ending. 

Burke has become one of Britain's most successful trainers. He sits fifth in the championship table, clear of powerful local rivals Charlie Johnston, Kevin Ryan and Richard Fahey, just as he has been for the last three years. They are doing well; Burke is doing better, buoyed at home by a Royal Ascot juvenile double and celebrated internationally for a growing list of international triumphs that this season alone have included an Irish 1,000 Guineas, German 1,000 Guineas and Prix Robert Papin.

Burke is no longer a rising force. He is a risen force, one who displays justifiable pride as he leads a tour of Spigot Lodge, the historic and now deeply impressive yard he moved to from Newmarket 23 years ago.

Karl Burke has trained from Spigot Lodge since 2001Credit: Edward Whitaker

"It was named after a jockey, Lester Spigot," jokes Burke of a property acquired from owner-breeder Guy Reed, with whom he was forced to agree a post-sale transaction when the tough Yorkshireman threatened to remove the concrete eagles that sit by Spigot Lodge's main gates if Burke did not pay for them.

"He wanted an extra £1,000 for the eagles," says Burke. "I couldn't believe it. I suppose he thought he could get an extra few quid out of me, which he did."

Sums vastly greater than that have subsequently been spent on a complex nestled within gorgeous countryside and situated just a short hop from Middleham's High and Low Moor gallops. Handsome barns are scattered around the site, where the facilities include a large indoor ride, an aqua treadmill, veterinary centre and a stable in which a machine pumps out salt to help horses with respiratory issues.

"It's a lovely property and a lovely place to live," says Burke. "I never wanted to train in Newmarket and it's not a town I like. I couldn't imagine going anywhere else now, although when I got the ban we went to France and I did my trainer's course there. We were only just surviving here, so we thought about moving to France. Thank God we decided not to leave."

Most mentions of the ban are introduced by Burke himself. 

Karl Burke was banned from racing for a year after being found guilty of passing inside information to a disqualified personCredit: Edward Whitaker

"I can't erase it because it happened but I know what I did and didn't do," says Burke, whose licence was removed in 2009 after he was found guilty of passing inside information to the disqualified owner and gambler Miles Rodgers. The offence he committed had occurred five years earlier and led to his high-profile arrest. 

"I got caught up with someone I shouldn't have done but it was nothing sinister," adds Burke, who had been interacting with Rodgers in an effort to persuade him to sell his stake in a property they partly owned across the road from Spigot Lodge. Success in that particular mission was to prove crucial a few years later.

"You live and learn," says Burke philosophically as he shows off some of the horses who have dazzled this year for a team that includes the trainer's wife, Elaine, and their daughters Kelly and Lucy. Fallen Angel proved unable to justify favouritism in the 1,000 Guineas but made amends when landing Classic honours in Ireland. Leovanni and Shareholder claimed the Queen Mary and Norfolk Stakes for Wathnan Racing, while Poet Master – now the highest-rated horse in the yard following a revelatory victory at the Curragh – Elite Status and Royal Rhyme have all landed Pattern races in the yellow and black silks of Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, who now pays training fees for more than 20 horses with Burke.

"It's fantastic that Middle Eastern owners realise they don't need their horses trained in Newmarket and see value in spreading their wings a bit," says the 61-year-old. "Sheikh Mohammed Obaid has been very good to train for, but for him and owners like him, it's all about success and winners. He does give you free rein, to a degree, but if that free rein leads you to doing something he disagrees with, he'll let you know."

The sheikh's horses, like all those at Spigot Lodge, seem content in their surroundings. 

"You could walk up to almost any horse here and they will let you pat their head," says Burke. "I like horses to be happy and relaxed. Even when there's loads going on around here, horses will be asleep. I love to see that."

Karl Burke with Andesite at Spigot Lodge: "I like horses to be happy and relaxed"Credit: Edward Whitaker

The sight of York novice winner Greydreambeliever brings a smile to his face. The Dark Angel filly runs in the colours of Hambleton Racing but, when buying her for €40,000 in May, Burke made sure to retain a share for himself. It is a policy that has worked extraordinarily well over the years, with the sales of Derby second Libertarian and Group 1-winning sprinters Havana Grey and Unfortunately all helping to pay for the expansion and enhancement of Spigot Lodge. In a market where smart young horses have some exceptionally wealthy suitors, Greydreambeliever is one of many here to have been the subject of inquiries.

"At one point we owned the equivalent of 30 horses, once you added up all the percentages," says Burke, whose modus operandi has reaped considerable rewards.

"Thirty was probably too many but you only need one good horse to make it worthwhile. I used to do a fire sale valuation every month or two. I soon realised the bad horses on your books mean very little. The good horses pay for everything – and they have. We've made £100,000 or £200,000 out of plenty of horses. 

"I wasn't very well last year, so the book of horses we own isn't as strong as normal, but we still own legs and halves in some nice ones. There are a few offers in at the moment. At some stage we'll cash in."

Burke adds: "You have to be a dealer to survive. Kelly now runs the financial side of the business and often tells me she does a fantastic job – but she is doing a fantastic job because the money is rolling in. We had to survive when there was very little money coming in. We made plenty of mistakes and got ourselves in financial trouble along the way."

When Burke is asked if there were occasions when things seemed dicey, he replies in the affirmative.

"Oh, loads of times," he says before pinpointing the most dramatic of them.

Karl Burke, pictured in the office at Spigot LodgeCredit: Edward Whitaker

"When my ban finished and Elaine had the licence, we were just clawing our way back. I felt I needed around 50 grand to get through the next year. Around that time a couple of owners introduced me to a guy who wanted to invest in a pop group. We had plenty of equity in Spigot Lodge, so in return for a fee, I signed a personal guarantee for his loan.

"The guy turned out to be a complete spoofer. He didn't pay the loan back, so the loan sharks he used came after us. We were thrown to the wolves. What made it worse was we had just had a nice little touch and won a few quid at Haydock but I was still stupid enough to get talked into signing because it looked like an easy way of earning a few grand.

"We were within three or four weeks of losing everything. The loan sharks were saying we had to pay back the £120,000 loan plus £5,000 a month in interest. It was all legal but they were hard-nosed businessmen who didn't care about our sob story. The only way we managed to pay off the loan was by selling the property that got me into trouble with Miles Rodgers."

The irony of that is not lost on him, yet the narrowness of his escape hit him hard.

"The whole thing was worse than getting any ban from the BHA," admits Burke. "Getting arrested by the City of London Police was less stressful. I thought I was going to lose everything. We would have been homeless. It was my actions that got us into the mess, the same as with Miles Rodgers, but there didn't look to be any way out of it. 

"It was a horrible feeling but we managed to drive on. The guy still owes me the money. I keep tracks on him, just in case he wins the lottery."

Karl Burke underwent a seven-hour operation for bowel cancer last yearCredit: Edward Whitaker

There are some things money cannot buy. Burke was reminded of that last year after taking a routine test for bowel cancer.

"Elaine is ten days older than me, so she did her test ten days before me," says Burke. "When her envelope arrived with the negative result, it was very thin. When mine arrived, it was much thicker."

The envelope contained pamphlets about cancer and advice on what Burke should do next. A seven-hour operation was followed by a course of chemotherapy.

"They told me I could have walked around for another year without any symptoms but then I would have been in real trouble," he says. "When they first did the colonoscopy, they said it was stage one cancer. They later amended that to stage two and by the time I had the operation it was stage three. Luckily, it had gone into the bowel wall but not through it. 

"I think I was pretty rational through it all. When I was being told a long list of things that could happen during chemo, through from feeling ill to death, I said to the specialist, 'Well, nothing to worry about, then'. I think you have to look on the bright side. Having said that, one of the side effects of the chemo was horrific."

In an unusual development, the horror eventually coincided with Poptronic becoming a Group 1 winner for Burke at Ascot in October.

Poptronic (left) struck for an absent Karl Burke on Champions DayCredit: Edward Whitaker

"The evening after my first infusion I got a cramp in the top of my right arm," he says. "I've never had pain like it. It went slowly down the side of my body before going across my stomach. 'Jesus,' I thought. 'If this goes up the other side and gets to my heart, I'm gone'. That was frightening. 

"I obviously didn't go to Champions Day and watched it here instead. When we had two horses in with a shout in the sprint, I started roaring at the TV. As they crossed the line, that same cramp attacked me. I doubled up and couldn't move for ten minutes. The only way I got through it was by breathing slowly, like a woman having contractions. I decided I wasn't going to get carried away after that but we won the next race with Poptronic, so it happened all over again."

Since then, the news has been only good. Burke's chemotherapy concluded in December and was followed by a holiday to the Maldives, Thailand and Dubai. That time in the sun was a tonic, as were the encouraging results of his latest scan and blood test. 

"Touch wood, I feel great, but cancer definitely changes the way you think," he says. "I've got as much drive as anyone but there comes a stage when you also want to enjoy your life. I don't necessarily want to spend 23 hours each day working in the yard. I don't mind spending 20, though."

When not in the yard over the coming weeks and months, he is likely to be on racecourses. Shareholder is set to be joined by dual French winner Arabie in next weekend's Prix Morny. Leovanni is earmarked for the Lowther Stakes at York, where Dante meeting winner Andesite could line up in the Gimcrack Stakes. Elite Status and Swingalong will tackle Haydock's Sprint Cup, Fallen Angel is set to return in the Matron Stakes, Poet Master has the Prix de la Foret as his long-term aim and Sheikh Mohammed Obaid is keen for Brigadier Gerard Stakes winner Royal Rhyme to contest Group 1 races in Australia next March and April.

With such tremendous firepower, it is hardly surprising a friend told Burke he would end up challenging for the trainers' title. That friend was immediately dissuaded of the notion.

Karl Burke and James Doyle after Leovanni's win in the Queen Mary StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

"I'm sure at some point there will be another champion trainer in the north but I don't think it will be me," he insists. "We would have to be very lucky and everything would have to click through a season. I'm not going to lose any sleep if it doesn't happen. I'm just delighted to be where we are now. As we were coming back from having two runners in Dusseldorf on Monday, I said to Elaine that it's amazing we've managed to get where we are now. I don't know how we've done it.

"Don't get me wrong, if we were within a million pounds of Aidan O'Brien at the start of October, we would go for it, but that won't happen. The fear of failing the horses we get sent drives me on more than chasing a championship ever could."

There are more of those horses than at any point in Burke's 34-year training career. Spigot Lodge has 139 fully occupied stables, with up to 20 horses also on the books. Bigger, however, does not automatically mean better.

"I didn't set out to train this many horses," he says. "I never wanted to and I wouldn't want to increase the string again because I don't think I'd enjoy it. I don't think I enjoy it as much now as I did when we had 60 to 70 horses. I haven't courted the position we're in and I hate the idea of blowing my own trumpet."

The cock of the north really does show no signs of cockiness, yet in the context of all that has happened, his achievements are remarkable. He has come back from the brink more than once. Burke believes he knows why.

"One thing we have done is take chances," he says. "I've worked with lots of good people during my time in racing. The only difference between me and them is I've been prepared to put my balls on the line. Sometimes things have worked out. Sometimes they haven't."

Right now, things are going just fine.

Enjoy more Sunday Reads . . .

'Other people look at eyes and ears and fetlocks but for me it's bottoms - it all started with John Francome and it seems as good a system as any'  

'At Ascot, you couldn't see anything wrong with British racing – and yet we know there are terrible troubles'  

'Having my counsellor is a big help - I don't feel anything I bring to her is too much'  

‘I’ve had some good touches but I gamble in business now’ - meet the four-horse trainer who has packed it all into his 80 years  

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