Pipe was previously assistant to his father

Pipe senior announced he was standing down on Saturday after a career in which he was champion trainer 15 times.

"Nothing will really change at Pond House - he's still going to be here every day and he'll be passing on his advice all the time," said his son.

"It's nerve-wracking but I'm really looking forward to it."

He told At The Races: "Dad has spoken about retiring in the past but it is one thing saying it and one thing doing it.

"He has just felt that the time is right to pass over to myself and he is usually a good judge and I hope he is right."

Feature: Martin Pipe - magician trainer

Martin Pipe said that his son's readiness to take over the yard was one of the factors behind his decision to quit.

"David is young, he's ambitious, and deserves to have his chance," Pipe told the Racing Post. "I will act as assistant, no doubt getting in his way from time to time."

But he stressed that his health was the main reason he was deciding to step down.

"I haven't been racing for ages. I'm so slow at getting about now. It's my legs that are the problem," he said.

"The operation I had the other day was on my wrist [for carpal tunnel syndrome] and that was just a small thing, it wasn't a major factor."