'There is no substitute for experience, especially at Cheltenham'

Horse racing: Barry Geraghty, pictured at Leopardstown on Friday before winning the opener on JezkiCredit: Patrick McCann

As dawn broke on the Sunday before the 2017 Cheltenham Festival, Barry Geraghty pointed his BMW in the direction of Dermot McLoughlin’s yard on the outskirts of Ratoath village in County Meath.

It wasn’t how the second most successful rider in festival history would have anticipated he might prepare for the single biggest week of the season. In the circumstances though there was nowhere else he’d have rather been.

“I was doing press-ups here on the Saturday night before Cheltenham, thinking to myself, ‘This feels too good',” Geraghty recalls as he pours a mug of coffee in the kitchen of his stately pile on the Skryne road.

Read the full story

Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.

Subscribe to unlock

Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data

Already a subscriber?Log in

Richard ForristalIreland editor

Published on 10 March 2018inFeatures

Last updated 18:07, 10 March 2018

Copy