BARRY GERAGHTY has broken bones in everywhere from his back to his neck — but that does not stop him doing what he does best.
The Meath jockey has been firing on all cylinders this season, having notched five winners over the Cheltenham Festival before following it up with another four at the recent Grand National meeting at Aintree.
And even on those unfortunate occasions when he comes home battered and bruised and upsets his wife Paula — it does not phase him.
“She would be upset sometimes when I come home with 40 stitches in my face like I did at Easter a couple of years ago, but she would never be looking for me to change career though, she knows I love what I do,” Geraghty told TheScore this week.
Paula — as well as looking after their two children Órlaith and Síofra — is a nutritionist, and helps the Meath man keep in check with his diet, a key part of any jockey’s life.
“It’s all about eating the right kind of food and at the right time. I’d be tempted for the odd rasher or a sausage the odd time, but it can be tough especially when you have to lose a bit of weight. My wife Paula is a nutritionist so that has made a massive difference.”
This season Geraghty’s partnership with trainer Nicky Henderson has become a formidable one and the 32-year-old does not see the stream of winners slowing down any time soon. Geraghty capped off a magnificent season with a win in the Gold Cup aboard China Rock at last week’s Punchestown Festival — Mouse Morris’s charge who returned home at a massive 20-1.
“This year has been truly amazing for me, being top jockey at Cheltenham and Aintree was something special,” says the 2003 Irish Sports Personality of the Year said. “I’ve been put on horses of the highest calibre all season so it’s a credit to Nicky and the others I’ve been riding for who have them in tip top shape.
“It’s great to have good horses to ride. It’s like playing for a good team, once you’re getting good supply it’s brilliant. To ride horses like Sprinter Sacre, Simonsig and Finnian’s Rainbow, it’s brilliant — it’s what you want to do.”
However, it’s Arkle Chase winner Sprinter Sacre who has impressed Geraghty the most, a horse he uncharacteristically hyped up before the Cheltenham Festival.
“Bar disaster at Cheltenham he was going to win,” says Geraghty. “To break a track record at somewhere like Newbury — on the bridle — is incredible. He’s a monster.
“Next year he will go for the Champion Chase. He is only a six-year-old so there is still possible improvement in him, but he would not need to improve an awful you would imagine. He’s the nearest to Moscow Flyer but time will tell if he is as good, or even better. He’s so stylish, it’s the way he does it – he’s a freak.”
At 32, Geraghty feels as though he has plenty of years left at the top, but what lays in store after he eventually hangs up the whip remains a mystery to the dad of two.
He said: “I’m feeling and riding as good as ever so I don’t see any reason to for retirement any time soon. I’d like to think I’d be able to ride until I’m 40, but you never know.
“I enjoy buying and selling horses but at the minute the training doesn’t really interest me, you never know though I could have a different opinion in a few years time.”
Barry Geraghty celebrates victory on Riverside Theatre after winning the Ryanair Chase on St Patrick’s Thursday, during Cheltenham Festival. David Davies/PA Wire/Press Association Images
Despite his long list of honours and his house full of accolades Geraghty has yet to win the Irish Grand National but as for personal targets, Geraghty is just happy to live each day as it comes.
“I’d like to win an Irish National, I’d like to win a Galway Plate but it might not happen and I’m not hung up about it. My target is to just keep going as long as I can and stay in one piece and enjoy what I am doing,” he says.
And while racing has come in for heavy criticism after the deaths of Gold Cup winner Synchronised and According To Pete during this year’s Grand National at Aintree. Geraghty maintains that the welfare of the horses is paramount.
He said: “If a horse breaks his leg he can’t be treated. It can happen galloping on the flat, it is more likely to happen if you let three or four horses out in the field and one will kick the other. That’s how easily it can happen
“The unfortunate part is that we can’t heal these horses who have a broken leg. With the Grand National, the changes they have made are very good and I don’t think they need to make any more.
“There were changes made last year to the fences so I don’t think there’s the need to alter them any further, though I am sure there are some out there who may think otherwise.
“Groups like the RSPCA, while they have the best intentions, they are not horse racing people. It would be like me telling someone how to run greyhound racing — I wouldn’t have a clue.”
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