'I'm not the fella at a football match who is roaring and shouting from the stands' - inside the mind of Barry Geraghty
David Jennings talks to the riding great about Cheltenham, Aintree and his outstanding career
Let's start with Sprinter Sacre, a personal indulgence.
And, just to clarify, the running order wasn't drafted by the man we are about to get inside the mind of. Oh no. It would be easier to find out who the favourite of his four children is than to get him to choose between Sprinter Sacre and Moscow Flyer. He has never let the mask slip yet and it didn't budge during the hour and a half we spent in the cosy sitting room of his fabulous County Meath home.
"People used to say to me there must be serious pressure going out to ride Sprinter Sacre, but there was way more pressure if you were trying to beat him," says Barry Geraghty.
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Published on inThe Big Read
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- 'I don't want to be part of this narrative that Irish trainers are better than us - I think that's rubbish, it drives me nuts'
- 'The grief hits me quite a lot - so many people think I'm really tough but I get terribly upset by things inwardly'
- 'The numbers went in the wrong direction and you're an idiot if you don't think about it - but you back what you're doing'
- 'My wife wants to know why I'm reading the sales catalogue in bed - it's relentless, but you have to be on it all the time'
- 'I know people will say they've heard it all before - but when I see Constitution Hill now, he's suddenly developed quality'