Leaving Ditcheat - Why I can’t continue to serve two masters

On Saturday I travelled over to see Paul Nicholls at his Ditcheat base to have the final conversation on a subject we’ve been discussing for several weeks.

What we agreed on was that my days as his first jockey had come to an end. I started as Paul’s stable jockey in October 2002, but when I chose to live in Ireland, this was always going to be a job that involved an awful lot of travelling.

Paul has never been anything but fair and honest since our association began and has been responsible for some of the most amazing days in my racing life. From King Georges and Tingle Creeks to Champion Chases, World Hurdles and Gold Cups, he has been behind them all. With horses like Kauto Star, Denman, Master Minded, Azertuiop, Strong Flow and Twist Magic to the current stars Big Bucks, Silvianco Conti and Al Ferof, great horses were and still are a staple diet in Ditcheat.