‘The hardest two years of my life’: meet the polo-playing Army officer turned National Hunt trainer with a hunger to succeed

Thirty-four-year-old National Hunt trainer Billy Aprahamian is a man on a mission.

“We’ve got 18 in training this year – I’d love to have 22 next year and keep the horses running consistently with some winners,” says Billy, who is based in the picturesque village of Adstone, in Northamptonshire.

Since setting up shop as a trainer in 2022, Billy has sent out 11 winners – seven of those since the start of this season in April...