'I rode Constitution Hill in his first piece of proper work - but now I'd love to see our mare beating him'
Irish wonderkid Sam Ewing speaks to deputy Ireland editor David Jennings about a whirlwind season
Sam Ewing is 21 going on 61. Not in looks, mind – he's probably still getting asked for ID by bouncers in nightclubs – but behind the baby face is a maturity that makes you realise why Gordon Elliott called him up to ride Tiger Roll at the tender age of 16 once upon a time in a Flat maiden at Navan.
He wasn't old enough to drive or drink or smoke, but he was old enough to ride one of the most famous horses of all time. That was some seal of approval.
"God, no," he smiles when asked whether any nerves set in on the day. "Sure, didn't he jump his way around Aintree no bother in Grand Nationals; all I had to do was steer him around safely in a Flat race!"
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