It's Cheltenham racecourse, about an hour before the first race on the opening day of the Paddy Power Gold Cup meeting in November. The sky is grey and the temperature's falling, but that hasn't deterred the crowds flocking through the gates.

Down in the betting ring, the bookies' pitches - the time-honoured mixture of boards, bags and boxes that make up their joints - are being assembled. Bombastic men such as Barry Dennis, conspicuously leaving the preparations to his minions, fling louder enquiries back and forth. Gregory and John Hughes are there; Andy Smith and John Christie are there; Mickey 'The Asparagus Kid' Fletcher, face like a 'Wanted' poster, scowls from the sidelines.

But one man, 62-year-old Scotsman Freddie Williams, one of the most important actors in the drama, hasn't yet arrived.