On the latest episode of ‘The Inside Track’ by William Hill, ex-English rugby player Mike Tindall and his wife, British equestrian and one of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughters, Zara Phillips,  talk about how their experience with horse racing came about.

Having almost no parallels to his former career, Tindall’s first-ever interaction with horse racing was the Cheltenham Festival. He explained: “Cheltenham Festival was probably my first introduction to going racing on a regular occasion. We were dating, I’d moved to Gloucester. That’s where the love affair came from. 

“And then, just because you’re a sports person you understand more when you start speaking to the jockeys. So when you’re watching the races you understand a bit more.”

Phillips on the other hand has been around horse racing since a child and is no stranger to the sport and the emotion that comes with it.

“I remember from very early on that mum started going racing, started going to the Dukes, David Nicholson,” she said. “It’s something that we became very involved with. I remember going to the races and watching her.

“The thoroughbred is an incredible animal and they can do anything. They kind of prove that in a lot of disciplines. I’ve always loved being on a thoroughbred because they just run and gallop.”