Prince Charles’ passion for horse racing came out of wanting to "understand" what it was like to be a jockey.
The 68-year-old royal had a brief career in horse racing which started when he was 31, and he has admitted the decision to take part in the sport was inspired by his interest in understanding the "incredibly hard work" that goes in to being a professional jockey.
Asked why he got into the sport, he said: "I wanted to understand what it was like from a jockey’s perspective. Because a lot of people don’t understand. You go to the races and you just see people galloping around, you have no idea until you do it just what incredibly hard work it is, and how much technique and practice and application and fitness there has to be."
The royal underwent rigorous training before he even sat on a horse, including riding a bicycle without any saddle, in order to get him used to the feel of not being sat on anything whilst still using his legs.
When asked what training he did, he said: "Oh lots. I ran, and I bicycled endlessly, on a bicycle with no saddle. Because you take the seat off so that you can’t sit down."
Prince Charles bought his first racehorse, Allibar, in May 1980, and remembers the animal as a "special old horse".
He recalled: "He was a very special old horse because he had all the right confirmation, and he had the right front on him."
Charles – who has Prince William, 35, and Prince Harry, 33, with his late ex-wife Princess Diana, and is currently married to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall – entered a handicap chase at Ludlow on Allibar, and admitted he was nervous when the race began.
Speaking in a short documentary on ITV Racing which aired over the weekend, he said: "It was very exciting, I remember fantastic butterflies, which is a very good thing to get, because once you get going you stay calmer, I find."
Prince Charles wanted to live the life of a jockey
