His day job was as the Newmarket correspondent to The Racing Post, but it was his exploits on the racetrack that exhilarated him most.
Marcus David Armytage was born in Oxford on April 17, 1964.
He was the son of Roddy, a racehorse trainer based in East Ilsley near Newbury and Sue, who, as Sue Whithead, was an international showjumper. His sister, Gee, was also becoming well-known as a jockey.
Attending Eton College as a young man, Marcus would often slip out to ride at nearby Windsor where he first cut his teeth as a jockey.
He made his first appearance on a racecourse on Nov 24 1981 when partnering Brown Jock in the Peter Cazalet Challenge Trophy Chase. The partnership pulled up.
He rode his first winner on Brown Jock in the Abergavenny Challenge Cup at Plumpton on April 10, 1982. Brown Jock finished second but the winner, Kas, was disqualified and placed second. As great a day it was for the young jockey, an even greater one awaited.
Saturday, April 7 1990 - Grand National Day: as Marcus made his way down to the start on the chestnut Mr Frisk, he would have reflected favourably on the recent prolonged period of dry weather which had guaranteed very fast ground - ideal for Mr Frisk.
Animal Rights agitators had succeeded in getting the stuffing knocked out of Becher's Brook; now, like Samson with his hair cut, it had been reduced to a shadow of its former self. This, and the lightning-fast ground, contributed to the winner returning a record time.
At the third from home, Mr Frisk and Mr Armytage were 10 lengths clear of their nearest pursuer, Durham Edition.
Gradually Durham Edition closed in on Mr Frisk. He was just six lengths behind at the second last and two lengths behind when jumping the final obstacle. In a great race to the line, Marcus and Mr Frisk held on to win by three-quarters of a length.
After the race Marcus said: 'I don't know if it was the tidiest round you have ever seen, but we got home in front. I couldn't believe it. I thought he was going to tie up about three out but he got a second wind. We made a couple of minor mistakes, but they probably did him more good than harm. I was tracking Hywel Davies and Uncle Merlin a lot of the way, and he was telling me to go slower.
Mr Frisk went on to record another spectacular success when becoming the horse to win both the Grand National and the Whitbread Gold Cup in the same season.
Marcus and Mr Frisk were back again the following year to attempt a double: however, so bad was the weather that the horse hated the ground. Marcus said after the race: 'The ground was just a bit softer than we hoped it might be. We hoped he might remember where he was and be able to overcome it. He made a mistake at second Becher's so I pulled him up as here was no point in carrying on. He owes us nothing.'
In the 1996 Grand National, Marcus was unseated aboard the 22/1 shot Bishops Hall.
Marcus joined The Racing Post as Newmarket Correspondent in 1990 and left to join the Daily Telegraph racing team in 1993. He also contributes a column to the Horse & Hound.
He rode 100 winners before retiring in 2000. They included three Cheltenham Festival victories: the National Hunt Chase twice on Keep Talking (1992) and Christmas Gorse (1994), and the Kim Muir in 1992 on Tug Of Gold.
Marcus married Amber in 2003 - they have a son, Arthur (born 28 September 2004) Molly (14 February 2006) and Arabella (26 April 2011.
Grand National winner: Mr Frisk (1990)
Other big winners:
1990: Whitbread Gold Cup – Mr Frisk
1992: National Hunt Chase – Keep Talking
1992: Kim Muir/Fulke Walwyn Memorial Chase – Tug Of Gold
1994: National Hunt Chase – Christmas Gorse
