An email conversation with: Peter Ebdon: 'I aim to be spot on for Sheffield and I have a realistic chance'

Quest to repeat world champion feat of 2002; Working hard to get snooker the deals it deserves; An obsession with horses that runs in the blood; The pleasures and perils of Liquorice Allsorts

The World Championship starts on Saturday, with those in the know agreeing it could be the most open in years with a lot of players, yourself included, in with a shout. Do you agree? It is open this year but will probably, once again, be won by one of the best players. It is a demanding event, mentally and physically. The standard is getting higher and higher but the very best players normally come through over the longer matches.

After winning in 2002, you said you had felt for weeks before that it was going to be your year. Any such conviction this year? I did feel that it was going to be my year in 2002 and am pleased with my preparations this year. I aim to be spot-on for Sheffield. I am feeling better every day and believe I have a realistic chance.

Shaun Murphy, like you in 2003, is looking to become the first first-time winner to retain the title. Any advice? I wouldn't dare give any advice to the defending champion. He played well to beat me last year in the semis and we are due to meet in the quarter-final this year. He has a tough opener against James Wattana.

Your quarter-final against Ronnie O'Sullivan last year had drama aplenty as he seemed to fall apart. You were hurt by suggestions of deliberate slow play. But what on earth was it like to be involved in such a contest? My win against Ronnie last year must have been one of the great Crucible comebacks and I was very proud of how badly I wanted to win that match. Certain comments in the press were absolutely outrageous, as well as being libellous, but for legal reasons I won't say any more on the subject, at the moment.

One player who won't be involved this time is Ding Junhui, the teenage Chinese superstar. As someone who has followed him closely, how far can he go, and how quickly? Ding has the world at his feet, providing he wants it badly enough and is prepared to put the necessary hard work in to deserve it.

In this post-tobacco sponsorship age, is snooker's pipe half full or half empty? Perhaps snooker no longer has a pipe! But the future of the game is in good hands. We have an excellent, committed and very focused board who are doing the very best they can. We hope to announce more tournaments next season but it is very difficult to attract new sponsors, not just for snooker but for all sports. This has been the most difficult season that I can remember, in terms of not having enough match practice, but the players have to be supportive of the association. Instead of complaining, players should offer their services to promote the game in a positive light. Moaning about lack of opportunities or prize-money can only put potential sponsors off. We have a great product and great players. We have just signed a new five-year deal with the BBC and have signed a multi-million-pound sponsorship deal with 888.com for the World Championship. We remain one of the most watched sports on TV.

You have emigrated to Dubai. How is it working out? Do the wife and kids like living there? Did your move have anything to do with your well-known passion for horses? And how are you progressing in your ambition to breed Group winners? Dubai is great and we all love it there. The only drawback for me is the amount of travelling I am now doing. Being away from Deborah and the children is not easy but I have a job to do. The move had nothing to do with my passion for horses and for studying bloodlines but Dubai is home to Godolphin, HH Sheikh Mohammed's racing and breeding operation. I attended the recent Dubai World Cup meeting and it was an amazing spectacle. I am no nearer to breeding a Group winner - next year maybe!

Give us a tip for this season's Derby, not on form but based on your extensive knowledge of bloodlines. I think Horatio Nelson could win the Derby this year. I know he is the current favourite but he looked to me as though he was crying out for a trip last year. He should stay the demanding 12 furlongs and looks to have the class to win. He is from the female family of a Derby winner, Generous, and could become a very influential stallion, in time. Personally, I would be looking for a Generous mare, with Graustark in her pedigree, to send to Horatio Nelson, as he himself has the full brother, His Majesty, in his pedigree. Obviously, this would create inbreeding to Doff The Derby, dam of Generous and to the full brothers but in this instance I think it would be a very positive thing. I believe that an Oaks or Derby winner of the future could be bred this way.

Where does snooker now rank in your priorities in life? Will you really stop playing altogether if at some stage you fall outside the top 16 in the world? My family will always be my No 1 priority. I work very hard for them, as much as for myself and for professional pride. I am very determined to be world champion for a second time. I would consider retiring if I were to drop out of the top 16 but it is up to me to make sure that that doesn't happen.

Do you have any remaining ambitions in pop music? I wouldn't discount doing another single or maybe even an album in the future. I love my music and whilst unfortunately I don't have the voice of Andrea Bocelli, I can "hold a note", as my ex-manager, the former pop-singer Troy Dante, once commented. We didn't release the last single and it ended up being something that we put together for the BBC. I was very proud of it and really enjoyed the whole process.

Is physical training, swimming a mile a day, still part of your programme? And are you still off the Liquorice Allsorts? Still swimming, and yes it is a very important part of my preparation, especially for Sheffield. I am very conscious of my diet and very rarely allow myself to indulge in Liquorice Allsorts. I used to leave most of the packet anyway, as there were only a few that I really liked! But I did really like them.

As a keen student and practitioner of psychology, and a football fan, can Alex Ferguson out-psyche Jose Mourinho and lead Manchester United to the title? And can Tottenham hold fourth place? Not so sure about the effect of football managers out-psych(e)ing each other... surely the matches are won on the field. Belief is a science in itself, however! Would love to see Spurs hold on to fourth place and would also love to see Wellingborough Town win their league!

You can host a dinner party with six guests from any era of history. Who? And what do you eat and drink? An interesting question. I think I'd love to see my three grandparents again. I wish that they had been here to watch me win the world championship. My dad's mother, Anne, is 91 on the 15th of April. She weighs about 5st, is as fit as a fiddle and is one tough lady, with a razor-sharp mind, too. If I were to invite famous people, I think I would like to invite Federico Tesio, breeder of Ribot, Donatello and Nearco; Harold Hampton, linebreeding theorist of Bonecrusher fame. I would also like to invite Napoleon Hill, Bob Proctor, Brian Tracy and Anthony Robbins, all four of whom have made significant contributions to the development of human potential and personal development. And I couldn't forget Zig Ziglar... I just love his accent and I know that everyone would have a great, fun time, if he were there - he's hilarious! (And very wise). Perhaps a perfect fillet steak and a case of 1982 Château Léoville Poyferré would have to be on the menu.