Charlie Deutsch emotionally dedicated two of his winners to a close friend who died just hours before.
The jockey touched the hearts of TV viewers during his interview at Doncaster races.
Deutsch only had thoughts for his pal in the aftermath of victory on 5-4 favourite Funambule Sivola.
"I'd like to dedicate these two winners to a very good friend of mine, he passed away last night," he told Sky Sports Racing.
"He's called Marcus Evans.
"He just loved his racing. And he's been with me from when I was born to now.
"It was a bit of a shock for all of us, the family and everything.
"I found out this morning and I had to come racing today.
"He would have loved it. I wish I could bring him here."
Funambule Sivola, trained by Deutsch's in-form boss Venetia Williams, was a length scorer in the Sky Bet Extra Places Every Day Handicap Chase.
Both the jockey and trainer and enjoying a fruitful season with their horses.
Sam Thomas, also achieving plenty on the track this term, provided Deutsch with his other winner.
Skytastic's hurdling debut earned him quotes of 20-1 (from 33-1) for the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle with Paddy Power.
He was another successful market leader on the card.
But punters forgot about the results and saved all their praise for Deutsch's courage in front of the cameras.
The clip of his kind-hearted Sky Sports Racing interview has been viewed over 27,000 times on one social media channel.
A racing fan said they had heard themselves how close their bond was during a day at Cheltenham.
"We met Marcus in a tea/coffee bar at the Festival some years ago and he was full of praise for @charliedeutsch2 and what a good rider he was," they said on social media.
"His faith in Charlier was unwavering every Cheltenham race day afterwards, when we would see him and chat about racing."
Another wrote: "Sorry to hear fella you made me well up. Condolences to his family and friends."
And a third person added: "The perfect tribute from Charlie. I'm sure he made his friend very proud."
Deutsch is enjoying his best ever campaign for prize money, winning more than £650,000 on his horses.
And he might have found a horse for the Cheltenham Festival, as Skytastic took one step towards making the big meeting.
Trainer Sam Thomas is inclined to keep him at the shorter trip for now.
"He's in the two-and-a-half and three mile races at Cheltenham and I would have thought he'd be more likely to go down the two-and-a-half route," he said.
On Saturday Deutsch will be back at Doncaster where he rides Cloudy Glen in the feature Sky Bet Handicap Chase.
At Cheltenham, a horse he won on last time, Farinet, bids to give Richard Hammond's wife Mindy a day to remember at the track's trials fixture.
