UNDERDOGS
As I was mucking out Jaguar's stable today, the sound of thundering hooves made me look up. There was a flash of yellow and red, and Louis and Jaguar were there for an instant before disappearing at a fast canter around the corner on the outer track. I've never seen Jaguar looking so fired up, or Louis looking so pleased with himself. He can handle him, alright, even when the tension in every Thoroughbred's DNA rises to the surface.

I like underdogs and fighters. I grew up surrounded by them when I was a kid - the line of work my father was in didn't need university graduates, just tough guys that didn't mind getting their hands dirty in return for a decent wage. I reckon I've seen more rough diamonds than the average DeBeers worker, but spending time with them has allowed me to look past the rough edges and see deeper - the gem is often there, it's just that modern society and the ultra-conventional thinking that comes with it hasn't allowed it to shine.

At the end of the day, in many ways, I've always been something of an underdog myself. But leaving school at 15 didn't stop me getting my first management post with my own department and staff at 17 - and no, it wasn't a gift from my Dad, I'd gone my own way at 16, and by an odd twist of fate couldn't even reap the benefit of his name. The 'D' I got in English didn't stop me teaching myself how to write professionally by reading everything I could get my hands on - I often joke that Ian Fleming was my teacher! Despite a lack of formal qualifications as a writer, I had my first book published at 22, and I guess the 2,500,000-plus words I have in print so far points to a bit of a fighter - or at the very least a stubborn streak of monumental proportions! None of this would have been possible on my own, though - somebody somewhere had to have faith in me to get things moving off first base.

This is why I feel so strongly that Jaguar, the roughest diamond in the equine world, has to have a fair chance to prove himself, even though it's not the done thing in Japan - everything follows manuals and past experiences, the latter only coming after consulting the former! I'm hardly sleeping now, but I couldn't sleep at all if I didn't give him a fair crack of the whip, so to speak. I know deep down he has a lot more to give - any horse that can win four JRA races certainly has a lot of heart! He just needs a bit more polishing, and I'm sure that in time, he will shine brighter than my balding head on a sunny day...