The winning trainer who went from the streets to the stables
Luke Deal/BBCGihan Arnolda was a teenager sleeping rough on the streets of east London, but now it is believed he is Britain's first black or Asian horseracing trainer.
Arnolda said he had a tough and difficult upbringing where he lost his mother to leukaemia and his father "lost control of life", causing Arnolda to run away and sleep rough.
He said he struggled to "really see a way out", but later his foster father introduced him to racing and, now in his 40s, he finds himself on The Gallops of Newmarket, Suffolk, giving horses their daily exercise and putting them through their paces.
Having only just received his trainer's licence three months ago, he has had six winners in 37 races, which earned the owners £56,555 in prize money.
Arnolda said he came from a "very troubled background" and it had been "extremely traumatic" at times.
After his mother had died, he said he would run away from his father and steal food in an attempt to survive on the streets.
He said there was "so much violence" and he saw many friends end up in prison, even admitting that he had come close to "going down those roads".
"I wasn't that person, but there was nothing I could do," he added.
But he said something at the back of his mind always said "try and get on the right path".
Luke Deal/BBCArnolda was later taken into care and fostered, which was when he said he saw education as his way out of his troubles.
He did well in school, but it was his foster father who educated him on everything there was to know about the sport when they used to watch races together.
"I started to fall in love with it there," he explained.
"He got me into it and that was the turning point with horses.
"Without him and my foster parents, it just wouldn't have been possible."
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At the age of 17, Arnolda looked into joining the British Racing School in Newmarket.
"I came into racing as a trial. I went to the racing school and they said to me after nine weeks, having never sat on a horse [before], 'you've got something and give this a go'," he continued.
"It was really strange because eight months later I rode a winner on a racecourse and then I thought [I should] start taking this seriously."
Arnolda rode in hundreds of races, but in 2009 he shattered his pelvis, effectively ending his racing career and he instead trained to be a chef.
"I didn't know what to do with my life," he said.
"I walked away from [racing], did something completely different, but I came back after five years."
Luke Deal/BBCHe decided to become a trainer and had to do various assessments before he was given his licence 12 weeks ago. He said getting winners under his belt was "amazing".
Arnolda, who is based at Cadland Stables in Newmarket, said his dream was to have 10 winners by the end of the year and aim for even more next year.
Asked how he feels, he said: "I never thought it would be possible coming from that background and that start in life — it seems crazy.
"[I feel] very privileged, very lucky, very blessed."
He added that he felt "proud" to be the first black or Asian trainer in the country and he hoped it inspired others.
"I've got two amazing children, an amazing partner who's my assistant who's really helped me. To show them and to show your kids one day 'dad did all right'," he said.
"Thinking about it now, I think we've done OK.
"It's a good start, but I think there's so much more to come."
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