Today racing laid to rest one of its true heroes. Frank Ennis (75) lived and loved horse racing his entire life and gave far more to the sport than he ever took from it.

My parents were into racing, both sides of my parents' family would have strong racing connections. My father, Michael McGrath, was a veterinary surgeon who trained horses and was a very keen breeder. His father before him trained horses from the 1930s onwards. I grew up in a family-run operation with a small number of horses.