When around 10,000 racegoers descend on Lockinge, near Wantage, for the Old Berkshire Hunt meeting on Easter Monday among them will be Frank Caudwell.

The sprightly former rider and trainer, who turned 90 on the day of my visit, will not be known by many making the annual pilgrimage to the course on top of the south Oxfordshire downs.

But he does stand out from from the crowd as having ridden the first winner at Lockinge way back in 1953.

Flicking through an old photograph album at his Drayton home, near Abingdon, he comes across a picture of himself winning on Sutton Courtenay, the horse he rode, trained and owned to that landmark victory in the members’ and subscribers race more than half a century ago.

“I think I rode 13 winners on him and I rode him in the very first race run at Lockinge and I won it,” he recalls proudly.

However, his other memories of that day are now somewhat sketchy.

“All I can remember is that it was a brand new course,” he says. “It was terribly well done. Mr (Christopher) Loyd, who owns the Lockinge estate, rode himself and he rode that day. “All I know was I won the first race and everything was done well. Money was no object.”

Caudwell’s recollection of that day may have become clouded with time.

And it’s not long before his thoughts turn to one of his favourite subjects – Grey Sombrero.

The horse, trained by David Gandolfo at Wantage, carried his brown and blue colours to memorable wins in the 1971 Midlands National at Uttoxeter under Graham Thorner and the 1972 Whitbread Gold Cup at Sandown in the hands of Bill Shoemark.

Caudwell was presented with the Gold Cup by the Queen Mother, who invited himself, his wife Doreen and youngest son Mark to join her in her box at the course.

“We weren’t too sure about going and they had to call us twice before we went,” he says. “But she was an extraordinary lady, of course, and was ever so easy to talk to. It was amazing.”

But triumph turned to tragedy 12 months later when Grey Sombrero was fatally injured jumping The Chair in the 1973 Grand National at Aintree – the year when Red Rum beat Crisp in arguably the most famous finish in the race’s history.

Returning to the subject of Lockinge, Caudwell believes the Old Berkshire Hunt are indebted to Loyd for securing the Easter Monday fixture all those years ago.

“Mr Loyd got us the Easter Monday, which is so terribly important because we get the crowds on Easter Monday and the result is we make more money than any other point-to-point entirely because it is on the right day,” he says.

After he finished riding in point-to-points, Caudwell continued to train his own horses and enjoyed success in hunter chases with the likes of Foxy Lady and Poor May.

“I went on training – I don’t know how long for until I was 70 or 80,” he says. “I rode and hunted until I was 80 when I had both my hips replaced.”

Mat Hazell, who used to be based at Denchworth and is now at Kingston Lisle, then took over the training for Caudwell and provided him with more winners – notably Pro Bono, Not My Line and Tubber Roads Caudwell, whose 90th birthday was marked by a party attended by 192 guests, hopes to see his colours carried by Owston Ferry at Lockinge on Monday.

“I have never missed a meeting since it started,” he says.

And the nonagenarian showed his fitness by walking the mile and a half course just over two weeks ago.

“I think there is a wonderful lot of grass on it,” he adds. “It is a very good course to ride. I would say it is the best viewing course in England. If you stand on the hill you can see everything.”