'I'll grab a lump of mane and hang on tight!' - Geraghty gets set for comeback

Wednesday: 2.50 Doncaster
Mondialiste Leger Legends Classified Stakes | 1m | 3yo+ | Sky

Barry Geraghty, who enjoyed a sublime career as a jump jockey partly because of his fruitful association with Nicky Henderson, teams up with another of Lambourn's big guns as he aims for his first British Flat winner.

Geraghty, 41, who retired last year, is among the star names in this year's Leger Legends race (Covid ruled out retired jockeys in 2020) which is run in aid of Jack Berry House, a rehabilitation centre for injured jockeys in North Yorkshire and the National Horseracing College near Doncaster.

Four-time champion jockey Richard Johnson, who quit the sport in the spring, is also in the line-up and should not have become too rusty since, but Geraghty is not expecting his fitness to be an issue either.

Charlie Hills: trains MumtaazCredit: Getty Images

He rides Mumtaaz for Charlie Hills and said: "It's nice it's Charlie, who is a neighbour of Nicky's and I got to know [Hills's parents] Barry and Penny very well when spending time in Lambourn.

"My training has been good and I've some point-to-pointers at home so I've been riding them, and I've been riding work for Sneezy Foster and Gordon Elliott for the last few weeks, so I think I'm in good shape. I'm not as fit as I was two years ago, but I've not got heavy."

So what chance of a 0-70 classified stakes finding its way on to Geraghty's CV, which includes a Grand National, a brace of Gold Cups and four Champion Hurdles.

"The horse ran well at Windsor last time and seems to like quick ground and I'd be hopeful he's a great chance – I know Charlie thinks he does," he added. "I'm looking forward to it and it's good to have a live one, but it'll be very different coming out of the stalls over a mile. I haven't had much experience of that so I'll grab a lump of mane and hang on tight!"

Like Geraghty, Dave Crosse was a Cheltenham Festival-winning rider and is keen to succeed, although he might just settle for finishing in front of close pal and business partner Noel Fehily.

Dave Crosse: keeps in shape jogging with his dogCredit: Edward Whitaker

Crosse rides Cloudland for Stuart Coltherd and said: "The fact I'm riding a 66-1 shot has messed everything up because Noel and I have been telling our syndicate members that we have a match bet between us, so I think I'll be handing over £100 out of my own pocket for the charities.

"In my favour, I'm ten times the better jockey and as long as I beat Noel I'll be happy."

Crosse, regularly seen jogging with his pet dog in Lambourn, likes to keep trim, as does his former weighing room colleague Charlie Poste, the partner of Coverham.

"I ride between five and, at extreme times, ten horses a day and I've just done a 500-mile bike ride for Racing Welfare, so I feel like I'm in okay shape," he explained.

"Harry Eustace, who trains Coverham, didn't want much dead weight on this horse, which is why I've been signed up and I think he likes a straight mile, and this race presents a good opportunity. It's for charity, but it'd be great to win it."
Reporting by James Burn

Aitch can edge tight contest

Backing a winner in a competitive 0-70 handicap is hard enough, let alone when all the riders have retired from the saddle and moved on to pastures new!

Just 3lb separates ten of the 11 runners in the field on official ratings, so the handicapper will be hoping for a tight finish, and it's hard to envisage anything else.

The best place to start is with the in-form First Dance, who looked regressive after a promising juvenile campaign but has been reinvigorated by the July course at Newmarket this summer, winning two of her last three starts.

However, the switch to Doncaster may see a downturn in form and a 4lb rise since her most recent defeat makes life tougher. Another to go up in the weights despite finding one too good when last seen is Mumtaaz, who is on a seven-race drought and may be in the grip of the handicapper. He certainly doesn't lack a talented rider, though.

The value may lie with Shining Aitch, who has run over 1m2f on all four starts since returning from a short break in the spring and should appreciate the drop in distance. His high cruising speed is a powerful asset in this company.

Natural Colour could be open to improvement after just eight and five runs. While a return to turf could be the catalyst to a better performance from the well-handicapped Vasco Da Gama.
Race analysis by Tom Collins

Read more:

'My clothes are a bit snugger' – Geraghty joins Johnson in Leger Legends line-up

Richard Johnson: after 30 years the time has come for me to retire

Wacky Races: 'one second he was going to win – the next he was heading to the street'

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