When this year’s Cheltenham Festival takes place, Jez Willis, who has spent a lifetime in the horseracing industry, readily admits he'll be asleep.

It’s not that the 62-year-old has fallen out of love with the sport, far from it, it’s simply that his job with the British Horseracing Authority will prevent him from seeing all the drama unfold at the home of National Hunt racing next week.

“I’m working nights at this year’s Cheltenham Festival,” said the 62-year-old, who is as an equine welfare integrity officer.

“I’ve been doing the job for the past 26 years but this is the first year I’m not working during the day at the Festival, I’ll be asleep when the races are on!”

Willis is part of a team that is responsible for maintaining the security of the racecourse stable yard, ensuring racehorse health and welfare, and for collecting and assisting in the collection of anti-doping and medication control samples.

It’s a vital role, of course, and one that Willis enjoys. And it’s fair to say that Willis, who lives in Stow-on-the-Wold, enjoys everything there is to enjoy about the sport of horseracing.

Originally from West Sussex, he’d always had a love for horses, a love that was so strong that it brought him to the Cotswolds as a 16-year-old way back in 1978.

“I moved up here to get into racing with David Nicholson,” he said. “I’ve never left the area.”

Nicholson, known to everyone as The Duke, had his training base in Condicote in those days - he would later move to Jackdaws Castle in Ford – and Willis continued: “I worked for The Duke for 20 years. I started as a stable lad and was travelling head lad for 15 years.

“They were the best working days of my life. We were young, we learned a lot and I worked with  a great bunch of people.”

Ask him to name names and he said: “The list is endless. In the yard I worked with Gordy Clarkson, Mark White and Clifford Baker, who went on to become Paul Nicholls’ right-hand man.

“Warren Marston, Dickie Johnson and Choc Thornton were all young boys who came through and became real good jockeys.

“Alan King came to Condicote as a pupil assistant and has gone on to have a great training career; I was very blessed to work with the quality of people  that I did.”

And at the head of the operation was Nicholson, who was twice champion trainer in the mid-1990s.

“The Duke was a great mentor,” said Willis. “If you were prepared to work hard and put the effort in, he would help you. He wanted to see people progress.”

He certainly helped the aforementioned Richard Johnson and Robert Thornton to progress as they enjoyed multiple Cheltenham Festival winners over the years and Willis admits that when he first linked up with Nicholson he had ambitions to be a jockey too.

“I was seven-and-a-half stone soaking wet when I started as a stable lad,” he said. “Like all the lads I had aspirations to be a jockey.

“But I always say that when I was light enough I wasn’t good enough and when I was good enough I was too heavy!”

Willis is very easy to talk to and he can remember many of the horses in Nicholson’s yard as though it were yesterday.

“Broadsword was the first that really made our name,” he said.

A quick look at the record books will tell you that Broadsword won 11 times over hurdles and twice came close to winning at the Cheltenham Festival, finishing second in the Triumph Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle in the early 1980s.

“The Duke was winnerless at the Festival for quite a long time,” continued Willis.

“Solar Cloud was his first Festival winner and then Charter Party won the Ritz Club. The Festival winners started to flow and we started attracting quality horses – Viking Flagship, Mysilv and Waterloo Boy.”

While Charter Party went on to win the Gold Cup, Viking Flagship was a two-time winner of the Queen Mother Champions Chase and Mysilv won the Triumph Hurdle, Willis said he always had a soft spot for Arkle Challenge Trophy winner Waterloo Boy.

“He was such a kind horse, so easy to deal with, he was a fave of mine,” said Willis.

“If you were asked who’d you want sat on your sofa it would always be Waterloo Boy, he was a very, very good racehorse.”

And there were many others at the yard who were very good such as Very Promising and Barton Bank.

Barton Bank was looked after by Willis’ good friend Gordy Clarkson, who these days is a jockeys’ agent.

“He was such a good horse,” recalled Willis. “He had all sorts of training issues and wasn’t the greatest jumper but he was one of the very best I worked with.

“But he never got to Cheltenham in the best shape, he was notorious for bursting blood vessels.

“It was different at the King George, he was always in the form of his life when he went there.”

Barton Bank won the showpiece Kempton race in December 1993 and looked set to retain his title 12 months later.

“I was watching the race with Gordy and he was getting a bit excited,” said Willis.

“Barton Bank was ahead after jumping the second last and I held Gordy’s arm and said, ‘We’ve still got another one to jump yet’.”

Racing aficionados will know that Willis was right to be cautious because jockey Adrian Maguire was unseated at the last allowing the Francois Doumen-trained Algan to come through for an unlikely win.

That upset was a rare disappointment for the Nicholson team and while the stable was sending out plenty of winners they were also trailblazers too.

“We were pioneers when it came to the Punchestown Festival,” said Willis.

“Highland Bud was our first runner there. We took a couple more horses the following year and after that the English contingent started sending horses over too.”

As travelling head lad, going to the Punchestown Festival was something that Willis really enjoyed.

“The Duke left the whole travelling side of things to my department, he was brilliant,” said Willis.

So why did he decide to leave?

“I remember saying to him, ‘Boss, only you know how long you are going to continue but I can’t see myself doing this job for anyone else’,” Willis explained.

“Sunday racing was just starting and it was a six-days-a-week job, I felt I needed to look at the second part of my career.

“Initially I worked as a veterinary technician for The Jockey Club, it was an opportunity to stay involved in the industry. It’s been ideal.

“I’m very proud of my career in the horseracing industry. The bottom line is the horses, they are the most amazing animals I’ve had the pleasure to work with.”

And even though he won’t see any horses running at this year’s Festival, he’s still got many, many racing memories, of course.

“I led up Goldspun for The Duke, he was owned by Lord Vestey,” said Willis. “He was placed in three stayers’ hurdles, he was favourite for the Triumph Hurdle one year but he finished fifth.

“And I led Peter Scudamore for his first ever winner for The Duke.

“It was a horse called Jacko and he won at Worcester, Scu was still working as an estate agent in Stow at the time.”

Scudamore went on become a stable jockey for Nicholson and Willis added: “John Suthern and Roy Mangan were the two stable jockeys when I started, they were great mentors.

“Richard Dunwoody was my favourite, his style suited our horses, he was a god to me.”

Harry Cobden and Sean Bowen are the top two jockeys this season so does Willis have any tips for this year’s Festival?

“My job means I’m not allowed to bet,” he said. “But as long as he's fit Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle looks so good.

“Everyone will yawn when I say that but I really think he’s one of the very exceptional horses.

“You think of Frankel on the Flat, he was a once-in-a-lifetime horse and Constitution Hill is potentially one of those.”

The Champion Hurdle is scheduled to start at 3.30pm on Tuesday 12th March and such is the impression that Constitution Hill has made on Willis, don’t be surprised if he tries to stay awake long enough to see that race!