When His Highness Sheikh Mohammed purchased Pebbles in 1984, he aimed her at the top mile races in the summer before she stepped up to a mile and a quarter for the Champion Stakes at Newmarket in the autumn.
Breeders' Cup Turf, Aqueduct, 1985
When His Highness Sheikh Mohammed purchased Pebbles in 1984, he aimed her at the top mile races in the summer before she stepped up to a mile and a quarter for the Champion Stakes at Newmarket in the autumn. She was beaten by French raider Palace Music.
I told Sheikh Mohammed that if she stayed in training as a four-year-old, we would win the Champion Stakes the next year. We did, and that paved the way for a visit to New York and the Breeders' Cup Turf.
One problem was the pre-race parade. I knew Pebbles would never get to the start in a fit state, so I had to think of an alternative.
On the track one morning, I saw some beer wagons going down a tunnel under the grandstand and the track, and surfacing near the turf course on the inside. On the big day, I slipped the man on the gate a $100 note, and we managed to get away with not parading. Pebbles went down the tunnel and came up at the start.
In the race, Pat Eddery rode her a treat. He got to the inside rail from gate 14, and then got the split at the right time. Pebbles had a high cruising speed and a turn-of-foot. She used both to give me the honour of being the first British trainer to win a Breeders' Cup race.
Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs, 1986
Bold Arrangement was one of the toughest horses I ever trained, and he was a pioneer in the modern era. We took him to Louisville, Kentucky, in May 1986, for a crack at the best American three-year-olds in their biggest race. I will never forget it.
We finished second to Ferdinand, a superb colt, who went on to win a Breeders' Cup Classic at four. There was plenty to shout about there. We were the underdog and very nearly pulled it off, and Ferdinand went on to frank the form in no uncertain terms.
In those days, there was no quarantine in Kentucky. You had to complete it in New York and then be vanned down to Churchill. It was an 18-hour trip through three different climate changes.
I had a cracking good lad looking after Bold Arrangement, Jimmy Miller, who did a great job. The colt also had a great owner in Tony Richards, whose dream was to have a runner in the Kentucky Derby.
Unfortunately, Bold Arrangement did what he did in most of his races. He got to the front and thought he had done enough. He got there and pulled up. The whole venture was a big risk but I thought Bold Arrangement did us proud.
The Oaks, Epsom, 1992
User Friendly, owned by Bill Gredley, was a dual Classic winner, taking both the Oaks and the St Leger. She was a brilliant racehorse, who did not need a lot of work, and I found her relatively easy to train. But I always worked her with inferior horses, just to boost her confidence.
The Oaks at Epsom was her big day. She was ridden by George Duffield, a top jockey with a cool brain.
User Friendly had won the Lingfield Oaks Trial quite brilliantly, and many good judges snapped up fancy prices that day about her in the Oaks. When she won at Epsom, it was a great relief for me. I knew all the pitfalls. I knew what could go wrong.
Thankfully, User Friendly didn't know and sailed home ahead of her field. She was later also placed in the Arc at Longchamp. But that is another story.
The Derby, Epsom, 1960
My boss Sir Noel Murless trained St Paddy, and it was my job to ride this brilliant yet fizzy colt every day at exercise. That was quite a challenge, I can tell you.
St Paddy had a lead horse called Sunny Way, and I found that the only way I could get my boy to settle in his work was to jam him hard in behind, on the hindquarters of his galloping companion.
Quite often, he would have his jaw on Sunny Way's back side. It was crazy, but it worked. St Paddy was a 'bubbler,' and I had to get him to switch off.
So, after all the work at home, and some hair-raising experiences on the gallops, I was so pleased to see him win the Derby, with Lester Piggott in the saddle. It was a magic moment.
The 1000 Guineas, Newmarket, 1993
I was happy to saddle Sayeddati to win the 1000 Guineas. She had been beaten in the Nell Gwyn Stakes after missing an important gallop.
Walter Swinburn, her rider, did not arrive in time for that work. So instead of galloping that morning, she cantered. I will never keep a horse waiting for a jockey. It frustrates the horse, who then starts to worry.
On the big day, Sayeddati was brilliant. She was too good for Niche and Ajfan.
Clive Brittain, 80, has announced he will retire from training at the end of the 2015 British Flat season. He was first employed in racing in 1949, and apart from two years National Service, he has been continuously engaged ever since in the day-to-day training of racehorses.
He took out his trainer's licence in 1972, with his financial backing being his winnings of £350 on the Noel Murless-trained Altesse Royale in the 1971 Oaks.
