L’Homme Presse is much like a freshman university student – the raw ability needs honing. Yet any concerns about whether he can fulfil that massive potential diminished markedly at Sandown.

Having produced a taking performance to land a hat-trick over fences in the Dipper Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham, he backed it up with an imperious display in the Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase.

Standing in the winner’s enclosure at the Esher track, his tutor, Venetia Williams, looked on with a mixture of joy, relief and pride, as though her student had just been given an A-star for his first meaningful examination.

As for the seven-year-old, he wondered what all the fuss was about, seemingly in his own little bubble, unaware of the concerns of worried guardians, ears pricked, fascinated by the proximity of the crowd and enjoying every bit of attention that came his way. The exuberance and naivety of youth was palpable.

L’Homme Presse has had his problems, including a tendon injury and four-inch screw piercing through his hoof, among them. His patient guardians are unsurprisingly emotionally invested.

Andy Edwards, doing his best to ignore the grit that had made his eyes water (rather unsuccessfully), co-owns L’Homme Presse with his wife, Pam, and Peter and Patricia Pink (best known for their involvement with triple Grade Two-winning chaser Nordance Prince around 20 years ago) under the DFA Racing banner.

Edwards has been a jumps fan for as long as he can remember. His parents had horses with David Elsworth and Philip Mitchell in the 80s and he had horses with Mitchell until his retirement.

“I remember the excitement and ‘Elsie’ (Elsworth) taking us to the King George when Desert Orchid first won,” said Edwards.

“Another memory was at Goodwood when Sonic Lady won the Fillies’ Mile. I stood at the half-furlong pole when Sonic Lady came past and the speed and magnificence of a horse coming past me… that is still stuck with me now. I have been a racing fan since I was a child.”

A heart attack gave the former property developer a new perspective.

“We moved to France and I was going to buy us a really nice jumper and take my time. Of course, I bought another one,” said Edwards.

“I was sitting in the armchair recovering for a few weeks and I thought, ‘Do you know what? It has been my passion all my life, I have always been very passionate about how horses should be looked after, not just in a physical way, and I want to do something about that’.

“I believe 20 per cent is the core physical attributes, and 80 per cent is mental and emotional.

“Horses have a soul, they are not simply a commodity. I’m very determined about how a horse should be brought up and educated as a racehorse.

“My message that I am trying to put across as DFA Racing is that we can do better.

“I genuinely do this for the horses. I am trying to promote the mental and emotional requirements they need.”

Edwards spends his summers travelling around stud farms in France, spending every moment he can with the horses he buys. He is the one constant in their lives.

“If they go on a holiday somewhere, I make sure it’s me that puts them on the box and when they come off at the other end, I’m there for them, giving them carrots and cuddles. They are constantly reassured.

“My golden rule is that after they have worked in the morning, they go out to the paddock. If you don’t offer me that, you don’t get a horse.

“The point is, if they stand by a gate when turned out, it is their choice to do that. They have a choice and they make the choice. So, mentally, they are happy to choose to stand there rather than run up to the top of the field. If they are in a box, they don’t have a choice.”

Edwards knew instantly L’Homme Presse was a special soul after Felix de Giles had tipped him off about a nice horse who had suffered an injury and was about to go to the sales.

“I call L’Homme Presse ‘Gent’,” said Edwards. “The minute I walked round the corner of the yard in Normandy, I just smiled and he put his head in my chest. I just looked at him and said I’m going to call you ‘Gent’. My dad’s first hunter was called Gent and he is not dissimilar, so that is his stable name.

“I negotiated the deal and asked my good friend Robert Walford if he could come over and get him for me and help me begin his recuperation, which he did.

“Robert and (his wife) Louise were instrumental in his two-year recuperation. I can never be grateful enough to them for what they did for him.

“People ask me, ‘Why have you gone to Venetia Williams with this horse?’.

“The first few times I have not been able to answer, because I can’t believe people are asking such a stupid question.

“Yet the answer is: I fully believe Venetia Williams is the best trainer of a chaser in this country.”

While he will not overlook the physical make-up of a horse or its pedigree, Edwards has a sensory antenna, for him an emotional connection is paramount in any decision to buy a horse.

“I have a little phrase for myself, but it is what I believe. I say, ‘I know nothing, but I sense everything’,” added Edwards, who also has horses with Emmanuel Clayeux, Roger Teal, Michael Scudamore, Jamie Snowdon, Rebecca Curtis and Rebecca Menzies.

“I am humble enough to say I know nothing, but I have learned in my moment in time to feel and sense everything. Every day, I am very grateful of that.

“People say to me, ‘How do you connect with horses?’.

“The way to do it is to empty your mind and body of all thoughts, and listen.

“Horses have a deep wisdom of the eco-system and the planet. They are not bothered about whether they have a Mercedes or a BMW, they have basic core needs, which is food and shelter. Then they have mental and emotional needs of safety – and love, for want of a better word – for feeling part of something and not abandoned.”

Edwards sees his horses needing small steps in their life journey before they become racehorses.

“They need to be at a breeder that can teach them how to be handled, just like children need parental guidance before they go to school.

“Then they are at pre-school. They need primary school, secondary school, and college or university, depending on their ability and their mental and emotional aptitude.”

Edwards believes, rightly so, it is our responsibility to give racehorses the patience to build the mental and emotional fortitude for their demanding athletic career ahead.

“There is no question L’Homme Presse has loads of natural ability. He knows he is the best,” said Edwards. “I also know he has a few sceptics.

“Yet I think it is slightly unfair the way L’Homme Presse has been portrayed as jumping left, especially as a novice!

“If you look at the way he jumps a fence, he is clever. He sometimes moves himself so that he meets the fence on a stride that is right for him. And then you watch the next fence – he gets the stride right.”

As with most parents or guardians, Edwards is fiercely protective and cannot understand how L’Homme Presse has not received the plaudits his undoubted ability deserves after four unbeaten chase starts.

“He has won a Grade One by 21 lengths on the bridle. He just trotted in. What more can the horse can do than that?” he added.

L’Homme Presse will run in either the three-mile Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (formerly the RSA) on Wednesday, March 16, or the shorter Turners’ Novices’ Chase a day later and will be a force to be reckoned with in either.

“If it is soft, he can go in the Turners and if the ground is quick, he can go in the Brown Advisory. The weather will decide for us,” insisted Edwards.

“We will make the decision of what race he goes in at 9.45am on Monday, March 14. We have to choose the right race for the horse.

“The start of the race is important. In the Turners, they go on the B of ‘Bang’ and meet the first fence quickly, going quickly, and they are still going the same speed to the second fence which is at the bottom of the downhill section. The first two fences come quickly.

“If you look at the start of the Brown Advisory, they start at a more gentle pace. They get into a nice rhythm, as it is a long run to the first fence and it is nicely presented. It is much more confidence-building.

“So, if the ground is soft, the Turners is OK as they will not go as fast into the first two fences. If it is Cheltenham good to soft, which is pretty quick, you have novices running very quickly into the first two fences.

“The best novice last year at the meeting, by far, was Envoi Allen. He was out of his comfort zone at the first three fences in the Turners, made a mistake at the fourth and came down.

“I don’t care which race he runs in, as long as it is the best race for him.

“It is our responsibility to give him the best platform so that he can be the best he can be.”

It will be another big test, yet thus far L’Homme Presse has come out on top in every class he has been in. The hope is he will graduate with honours. Keep the faith!