Olly Murphy: "If you win in the sales ring, you will win on the track"

We have had a fantastic year - we are actually level with where we were last year, so not far off my best ever season for winners. 

We have had our best ever season prize-money wise, things have improved again from last year and, hopefully, they will stay on an upward trajectory. Things have gone really, really well. 

Dan [Skelton] is where he is, and it will be very hard to knock off the top table with how powerful he is, but as long as we are improving year on year numbers wise, and prize-money wise, and staying in the top five of the championship is where we want to be at the moment. 

Like I said at the start of the season, if you can go up a place or two then that’s the aim, and just try to improve year on year. You have to be realistic, but we have had a great year numbers wise, plenty of big Saturday winners, and we just want to keep improving.

You need to buy better horses and be supported by better people. One thing Gordon Elliott said when I left him was that if you win in the sales ring, you will win on the track. You just need to be as competitive as you can in the sales ring and if we can keep buying the nicer horses, then hopefully we will keep climbing the trainers' table. 

We have run nearly 200 individual horses when the season is out. It has been a big team effort from everyone. 

We have helped Sean Bowen become champion jockey again which is great for him and I think his number and work ethic has got a bit more out of me as a trainer with numbers and drive to get to the next level. Things have gone really well.  

Things have been going great, we are still looking for those better horses and that Champion like everyone else. We have plenty of big winners along the way, though. 

Strong Leader winning the Grade Two in Wetherby early in the season, Scorpio Rising winning an EBF final, too, but I suppose Wade Out (pictured above) at Aintree - those Festival races, it was great to get a winner there this year, and it is something that you want to be getting, winners at a Festival. 

He is owned by Sir Alex Ferguson, Ged Mason, Mr Done and the Hales - he is owned by some really good people. I speak to Sir Alex three or four days a week, he loves his racing as much as I love my football. To train a winner he is a part owner of is fantastic.