Tag Archive for: Barry Geraghty

Geraghty has fond memories of ‘magical place’ Cheltenham

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“A magical place, where you want to be and where you want to win.” Barry Geraghty probably sums up the Cheltenham Festival for anyone involved in National Hunt racing.

And he should know, with 43 wins at jump racing’s Olympics to his name before he retired in 2020, aged 40.

There were some big winners, too. Very big. The Champion Hurdle, the Champion Chase, the Gold Cup – in short, all the ones that really matter.

Five times the County Meath-born rider won the Champion Chase. Big Zeb (2010) and Finian’s Rainbow (2012) sandwiching the mighty pair of Moscow Flyer (twice, in 2003 and 2005) and Sprinter Sacre (2013).

Jubilant scenes at Cheltenham for Barry Geraghty and Moscow Flyer
Jubilant scenes at Cheltenham for Barry Geraghty and Moscow Flyer (David Jones/PA)

Like many of the two-mile championship races of that era, the 2005 win of Moscow Flyer’s was a special one.

“It was a magical day, we had won the Tingle Creek beating Azertyuiop and Well Chief and the rematch was on. Moscow Flyer arguably put up his career-best performance that day and he just laughed at the opposition and strolled in,” Geraghty said.

“Moscow Flyer was an amazing horse and an absolute superstar who Jessica Harrington did brilliantly with to keep him at the top level for so long. He was four years unbeaten and he was a real champion who showed his mettle that day.

“I’ll always be associated with Moscow Flyer and I was very fortunate to have two great horses like him and Sprinter Sacre for brilliant people like Jessica Harrington and Nicky Henderson during my career.”

Barry Geraghty with Nicky Henderson and the brilliant Sprinter Sacre
Barry Geraghty with Nicky Henderson and the brilliant Sprinter Sacre (David Davies/PA)

Punjabi (2009), Jezki (2014), Buveur d’Air (2018) and Epatante (2020) gave Geraghty four Champion Hurdles. Kicking King in 2005 gave him his first Gold Cup and eight years later Bobs Worth – a horse he had a particularly special bond with – gave him a second win in the blue riband.

“Kicking King was another brilliant horse. Unfortunately, injuries curtailed his career somewhat, but it was a magical afternoon when he won the Gold Cup and he put up two special performances in the King George,” said Geraghty, who in conjunction with point-to-point trainer Warren Ewing bought a certain Constitution Hill as a six-month-old foal.

“It was my first Gold Cup, but it’s hard to split him and Bobs Worth, I have to admit.

Kicking King and Barry Geraghty on their way to Gold Cup glory
Kicking King and Barry Geraghty on their way to Gold Cup glory (Barry Batchelor/PA)

“I had a personal connection with Bobs Worth having owned him with my brother since he was a foal until he was a four-year-old. He was a gorgeous horse with a lovely temperament, a little bit like Constitution Hill – he was very kind and unassuming and gentle and the type of horse you could put your child on him.

“Any winner at Cheltenham is special and I’ve been fortunate to win a few, but to get three of the championship races was fantastic. There’s no doubt it’s a magical place and if you’re a trainer, jockey or owner it’s where you want to be and where you want to win.”

Tributes paid to Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Kicking King

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Cheltenham Gold Cup and dual King George hero Kicking King has died at the age of 25, the Irish National Stud has announced.

Trained by Tom Taaffe, Kicking King enjoyed six Grade One wins over fences in all, with his brilliant victory in the 2005 Gold Cup sandwiched by back-to-back successes in the King George VI Chase at Kempton and Sandown respectively.

He spent over two years on the sidelines with a tendon injury following the latter victory and having failed to rediscover his best form, he was retired in 2008 and took up residence at the Irish National Stud alongside other ‘Living Legends’ including Hardy Eustace, Hurricane Fly and Faugheen.

“Kicking King was a natural, athletic horse with balance – a great horse for Conor Clarkson (owner), Barry Geraghty and all our staff,” said Taaffe, speaking on the stud website.

“He was an ambassador for racing and was fortunate to have a second life in the exceptional care of the Irish National Stud.

“He gave the Taaffe family many special moments, but I particularly recall the day he won the John Durkan Chase at Punchestown. John was a great friend to us all and that day Kicking King put up a special performance of jumping and galloping.

“The Gold Cup was what you dream of. We were lucky to have him.”

Barry Geraghty celebrates winning the Punchestown Gold Cup on Kicking King
Barry Geraghty celebrates winning the Punchestown Gold Cup on Kicking King (Haydn West/PA)

Geraghty rode Kicking King in all but two of his 28 career starts.

“It is very sad news to hear Kicking King has passed away. He was a real star, a big powerful horse who loved his racing,” he said.

“He provided me, Conor Clarkson and Tom Taaffe with some special days. He put in brilliant performances winning the Gold Cup and two King Georges and gave us many more great days to remember.

“As a family we enjoyed visiting him in the National Stud where he had a lovely retirement and was so well cared for by everyone, especially Leona Harmon.”

Kicking King with Tom Taaffe
Kicking King with Tom Taaffe (Haydn West/PA)

For Clarkson, Kicking King was the horse of a lifetime. He said: “Kicking King brought my family, friends and I on an odyssey in horse racing few are privileged to enjoy.

“My thanks to Tom Taaffe and his team for their magnificent handling of Kicking King that enabled him with the wonderful Barry Geraghty on board to achieve so much.

“I am so pleased that he spent so many happy years providing enjoyment to the public in the unparalleled care of the Irish National Stud.”

Geraghty not shocked by Russell’s decision to call temporary halt on retirement

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Davy Russell has the opportunity to find closure after coming out of retirement that lasted barely a month.

That is the view of two-time Irish champion jockey and the second winning-most rider at the Cheltenham Festival, Barry Geraghty.

Russell confirmed in a statement on Wednesday evening that he will return this weekend to fill the void left at Gordon Elliott’s powerful Cullentra House operation with Jack Kennedy sidelined.

Kennedy broke his leg when falling from Top Bandit at Naas on Sunday, leaving Elliott without his number one rider, with Russell having retired on the spot following a winner at Thurles on December 18.

And Geraghty, whose own retirement from the saddle came in July 2020 after a glittering career that saw him win all the major Cheltenham Festival races at least twice, was not shocked by Russell’s about-turn, even if it is a temporary one.

“I wasn’t surprised,” said Geraghty. “My wife said to me when I told her last night that Davy was coming back, she said it was the first thing I’d said after I got a text on Sunday evening saying what Jack had done. That is a reflection of knowing the beast, if you like.

“When you have a chance to ride those good horses at Cheltenham, it is worth doing if you are Davy.

“He is 43 and has been through the wars, but he did catch a lot of people by surprise retiring when he did, mid-season, because it is a bit like a footballer retiring mid-season. It would be as if Ronaldo retired and then a position became available.

“At least there’s closure at the end of the season and there is a certain level of time before the good racing gets back, and you get to detox a little bit.

“I thought it was a very good chance it would happen and I’m not surprised at all. Davy is very driven and there is still ambition there, and it probably wasn’t being fulfilled.

“That was possibly why he retired more than anything else.”

Had Geraghty, who also won the Grand National aboard Monty’s Pass and partnered Kicking King to two King George VI Chase wins, any such thoughts of returning to the saddle once he had announced his retirement?

“No is the simple answer. I had prepared for it,” he said. “Davy’s was mid-season, so I don’t know where his thoughts were. But I was preparing for it.

“I was at the start of the King George in 2019, my last year. Sam Twiston-Davies and myself were scrimmaging down at the start for the position of second, down the rail, behind the pace.

Solwhit and Davy Russell (left) beat Punjabi and Barry Geraghty in the Garde One Rabobank Hurdle at Punchestown in 2009
Solwhit and Davy Russell (left) beat Punjabi and Barry Geraghty in the Garde One Rabobank Hurdle at Punchestown in 2009 (Damien Eagers/PA)

“Sam was pleading with me to give him the spot, and I said, ‘No Sam, I can’t, this could be my last one’. So I knew where I was, and I wasn’t just playing games with him.

“We are all different. I knew. I didn’t announce my retirement at Cheltenham, I came away from Cheltenham a week later and I’m thinking, ‘This is too easy, I’ve not had a great Cheltenham’.

“Two weeks later, I knew this was the right time.”

Barry Geraghty rode 43 Cheltenham Festival winners
Barry Geraghty rode 43 Cheltenham Festival winners (Andrew Matthews/PA)

Unlike some riders, Geraghty is thankful that he went out on his own terms and cited Richard Dunwoody, who was forced to retire though a long-term neck injury when at the peak of his powers in 1999.

“Everyone needs a certain level of closure,” said Geraghty. “I don’t think Woody got it when he had his injury and I don’t think Davy has necessarily got what he wants.

“He has gone back again and the opportunity arose. I’m not saying it is the right thing to do. It is a personal choice.

“But if he didn’t, with all those good horses, how would he feel Cheltenham week watching on?”