“It’s been a catalogue of unbearable excitement, crushing disappointment and countless sleepless nights over the last three years but I wouldn’t change a thing,” says Salford based Angus, who first became hooked on racing as a teenager.

“When he won at Thirsk as a two-year-old I was physically shaking with excitement because we all realised we had something special. He went off favourite for the Gimcrack the week after and finished second – we had the world at our feet.”

Marshman began his eagerly anticipated three-year-old campaign with a Group 3 win in France but after disappointing runs at Royal Ascot and Sandown an injury was discovered that cut his season short. “We had his season mapped out but had to scrap our plans and wait until the following year,” recalls Angus. “We’d been dreaming about winning a big sprint but our highs quickly became lows.”

Eight months later Marshman ran second in a Listed race at Doncaster and the dream was alive but hope and expectation quickly turned to despair yet again. “He ran so poorly at York and Haydock Park and was clearly going backwards,” he adds.