If the two incidents hadn’t happened I would have won” – Inside the Aintree Hurdle stewards’ inquiry

I had to check my stride at that point and lost my rhythm. I wasn’t able to ride down to the hurdle as I would have liked, which meant my horse wasn’t as quick and slick. At the last, his horse did the same thing and knocked me off my stride a bit.

Heading down to the line, I feel I’ve been bumped out of my stride again. These three incidents have massively affected the true, straight running of my horse and I’ve only finished a nose behind. The pressure on the straight came from the inside, Mr Skelton’s horse on that occasion.

Mr Townend’s horse then came back across me, and I had to come at them again. I just feel if I had a true, straight running without any interference then I was the winner of this race. It parted like the Red Sea at the second-last with Mr Townend’s horse jumping out to his right.

I was picking up and felt like I had plenty of horse underneath me. After the last, he seemed to be spooked by all the cameras on the inside and drifted out to his right. Once I straightened him up, Mr Townend’s horse slightly leaned on me and intimidated me back towards the rail.

I felt Mr Townend wasn’t a length and a half clear, so I had to switch. Miss Blackmore’s horse helped carry me towards the line but then I got a bump from both horses. I felt he was coming with a winning run and was an unlucky loser.

If those two incidents hadn’t happened, I feel I would have won. Mr Skelton’s horse spotted something and came to meet me on the straight. As we came across, Mr Skelton’s horse came out to join me, and I was well clear of him.

He never had to stop riding. He switched course, but that’s after I’d gone clear of him. My horse initially quickened really well.

He tied up a little approaching the line and pulled himself up a bit, but as they closed on me, my horse was going again and he was definitely the best horse on the day.