SARA Cox blames jockey Willie Carson for her keen interest in racing after he signed her race card at Haydock Park when she was a child.

“I still have a dream when I’m at the races that a trainer will come up and say that something’s happened to his jockey and ask me to ride it,” said Bolton-born Cox, who will pump up the volume after racing on Saturday when she spins the platters with a ninety-minute DJ set at the North West track.

“They work so hard and they are so brave – it has to be in the blood.

“It is a calling and I always wanted to be a jockey.”

Cox was the all-partying poster girl of the Nineties, and the host of BBC Radio One’s Breakfast show for three years, a programme that would regularly attract 10 million daily listeners.

“They were definitely good times, but sometimes really silly too,” she giggled. “On My Radio One show, I’d go out have fun, then collapse in my chair next morning and tell the listeners all about it – and they loved it.

“It was the time of my life, and I was very lucky.

“I did some really cool stuff like interviewing Leonardo DiCaprio, Sting, Robbie Williams and lots of other really interesting people.”

So who was Cox’s favourite star from those heady days of Big Breakfast, and her Radio One slot?

She said: “David Bowie was very, very special - such a nice human being.

“He could tell I was completely frazzled and star struck, but he was very kind and put me at my ease. It was a lovely interview to do.

“What I’ve learned over the years is to treat people well and do your best, because people will want to work with you.”

Cox’s career in radio and television has spanned two decades, but she still possesses bags of down to earth northern charm and a sparkiness that has made her a huge favourite on the airwaves.

These days, she hosts Sounds of the Eighties on Radio Two and is a newspaper columnist.

But while she has lived in London for half her life, however she loves nothing more than coming home to Bolton to visit her dad in Little Lever.

“I grew up on a farm and adore being surrounded by animals,” she said.

“My dad still has a herd of Hereford cattle, but when I was a little girl I had a pony called Muffin and that’s when my passion for riding began.”

Cox is a natural in the saddle. She tackled the Dartmoor Derby, a 50-mile endurance yomp for horse and rider, and is a veteran of two Magnolia Cups, an amateur race for lady riders at Goodwood.

She added: “My riding hat represents all the fun and fulfilment that being around horses give me.

“I can’t wait to be back at Haydock Park again.”

Sarah Cox, Haydock Park, Saturday, May 27. 0344 579 3006 or www.haydock.thejockeyclub.co.uk