I wasn’t so sure. Deleting things from phones or computers was not as easy as people thought. Devices had a habit of remembering what was done to them, especially if they automatically back up files to the cloud.

‘I still think that the video alone doesn’t prove you’ve done anything wrong,’ I said, trying to raise his spirits.

‘But it doesn’t need to prove it,’ he said miserably. ‘Even if the BHA takes no action against me, Mr Kline and every other trainer will. I’ll be instantly out of a job with no prospect of ever getting another one.’

Unfortunately, he was almost certainly correct on both counts.

‘Well,’ I said. ‘In that case we have to prevent Valance from posting the video on social media.’

‘And how do we do that, other than by me doing exactly what he wants?’

That was a good question, and one I hadn’t yet worked out the answer to.

Marcus stared at me and, once again, he was close to tears. ‘Why do you care anyway? It’s my problem, not yours. And it’s all my own stupid fault.’

I thought for a moment.

‘I care, Marcus, on a number of different levels,’ I said. ‘First, I care passionately about our sport of horse racing, particularly jump racing. Second, I care very much that someone is trying to manipulate the fair running of racing for their own advantage. And third, I care that you are being used as an unwilling pawn in a much bigger chess game, simply because you naïvely made one silly mistake.

‘Valance knew exactly what he was doing. He probably heard that you were short of money and offered you some manna from heaven at a time when you were absolutely starving. Who wouldn’t take it, especially as you both knew the horse was a no-hoper anyway? That’s why he asked you to stop that particular one. To knock you off your guard. If it had been the favourite, or any other with a decent chance, you’d have probably told him to bugger off.’

He nodded, although I wasn’t altogether sure he would have done.

‘Don’t beat yourself up too much. I intend to defeat this man and I need your help to do it.’

He suddenly looked less willing.

But I wasn’t finished. ‘I need you to tell me everything he says to you. If he calls and says you are not to turn up at the races, or not to win on a certain horse, I need to know about it. Not the following day, but straight away.’ I emphasised the point. ‘Everything he says, without fail. Do you understand?’

‘But why?’