Barry Geraghty: 'Really good horses just amaze you. It's incredible to be on board'

Geraghty, seeking a big-race hat-trick this weekend, tells Kevin Garside about the thrill of the chase

There is no such thing as a routine meet in the lee of Cleeve Hill. The siren call of Cheltenham is too strong and so it was that thousands gathered beneath an autumn sun to commune on sacred turf in early November.

The jumping season was taking shape, the big rides in the calendar looming and Barry Geraghty was in the thick of it. Owners, trainers, connections, all to a greater or lesser degree with a vested interest in the progress of the mount, taking what they could of his time in rushed huddles, absorbing the details issued at pace in the immediate aftermath of a race.

Owner JP McManus in familiar overcoat and hat hovering in the parade ring; trainer Nicky Henderson, running between engagements, an elite racing coterie for whom the love of the horse is paramount; one by one Geraghty gets to them all, or rather they get to him.

On Saturday he will ride Triolo D’Alene in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury. A win would bring up an unprecedented hat-trick of victories for the jockey – successful on the same horse last year and Bobs Worth in 2012 – in one of the season’s landmark races. The endless slog in pursuit of the next triumph is not a part of Geraghty’s DNA. The AP McCoy route to jumping nirvana is not for him.

But give him a sniff in a prestige race and he is a punter’s dream, whose name attracts the bet almost as much as the horse. He lit a flare in the racing milieu a decade ago on board Moscow Flyer, claiming a clutch of big prizes not least the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham twice. He has gone on to claim a full set of blue riband scalps, including the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the King George VI Chase and the Grand National.

The Flyer remains a great love but has since been joined in Geraghty’s affections by the chasers Sprinter Sacre and Simonsig, both expected to return to action this season after a spell on the sidelines. “You mention them in the same breath as Moscow Flyer, definitely,” Geraghty says. “Really good horses just amaze you. They just keep raising the bar. It is an incredible experience to be on board.”

The same might be said of the best jockeys, delivering rides beyond the scope of their peers. Outside the weighing room in a short break between races, I ask Geraghty: what is it that separates the best? What distinguishes Ruby Walsh from AP? And where does he rank among the best?

He is far too modest to opine about himself, paying tribute instead to all those who present to a set of scales every day of their working lives. “For sure Ruby and AP are brilliant riders. AP has raised the game to a different level, his drive and dedication. It’s incredible what he is prepared to put himself through, we all look up to him. He has definitely raised the bar. But we all ride differently and have different priorities.

“If I had to pick my personal favourite, I would say Charlie Swan for me was the best. Tactically, Charlie was unbelievable. But it doesn’t matter where you are in the pecking order, they are all great lads.

“We all do the same things, take the same risks. No one in the weighing room is wandering around thinking he is better than the next man. We are all in the same game. We can’t all ride the big horses. There are a lot of guys who would do well if they got the same opportunity. You just have to make sure you take the opportunities you get.”

For the non-aficionado, the relationship between horse and jockey remains unknowable, a mystery. For the rider, the relationship is deep and nuanced. “I would say the horse knows the jockey, definitely. Horses go better for some jockeys, the style of riding suits some horses and not others. The trainer’s job is to get them to the best form he can, to tease that bit extra out of them. Then it’s down to us.”

At 35 Geraghty is at his peak and settled in a career pattern that allows him his immersion in all things Ireland while crossing the water for the big set pieces. Listening to him reflect on his passion for racing you wonder why the sport does not make more of its poster boys. There is genius in those hands, a sharp, critical mind and eyes of cornflower blue that demand a wider audience.

“Racing maybe does not get enough terrestrial TV time so does not have the same attraction for the general public. But none of us are moaning about not getting our picture in the paper. We are all happy to be doing what we are doing. I love the lifestyle I have, I’m busy. I race six days a week. There is no big hoo-ha in my life. I live a quiet life at home with good neighbours.

“There is no big hoo-ha with them either [McManus and Henderson]. They are just normal people, just good fellas. That’s what allows me to take the highs and the lows the same way. We all move along and get on well. There is a huge love for the game.”

Injuries are a routine feature of the business, and with this interview taking place at Cheltenham thoughts quickly embraced the fate of J T McNamara, paralysed in a fall here 18 months ago. Geraghty is a visitor when time permits, reinforcing the sense of brotherhood and belonging that binds the society of racing men. “JT is doing well. He is in good form but it is very tough for him. We all know the risks but you can’t dwell on them. We’ve all had falls. You just get on with it.”

Barry Geraghty was interviewed ahead of the Hennessy Gold Cup, run at Newbury on Saturday.