Geraghty never flinched when stakes were at the highest

IN a stunning career haul of 1,920 winners, there were many stand-out moments for Barry Geraghty. From the press box vantage point, his ride on Punjabi in the 2009 Champion Hurdle embodied all the very best he brought to battle.

For this was a Cheltenham shoot-out like no other, involving Geraghty, Ruby Walsh and AP McCoy, the three finest jockeys of their time.

From the last flight, whips flailed, legs worked like pistons, as the elite pilots demanded all they had from each other and their willing steeds.

Geraghty was in the centre on Punjabi, flanked by Walsh on Celestial Halo to his left and McCoy on the 6/4 favourite Binocular to his right.

A 22/1 outsider, Punjabi should have cracked first but Geraghty was having none of it as he coaxed and coerced his charge up the punishing hill, refusing to blink.

At the post, Punjabi had a neck on Celestial Halo, and a further head on Binocular.

If the winner never scaled the heights again, Geraghty continued to do so, especially at Cheltenham where he rode with wings.

Between 2002 and 2020, Geraghty rode at least one winner at every Festival, bar 2017 when he was injured.

In the most demanding of cauldrons, he had few equals, outside of Walsh.

Like the golfer who turns up in the Majors and delivers, so ‘BJ Geraghty’ never flinched at Cheltenham, where the stakes are always highest.

His big-race record there was astonishing – two Gold Cups, four Champion Hurdles, five Champions Chases, two Stayers Hurdles. Those 13 ‘Majors’ left him one shy of Walsh’s 14 and more than double McCoy’s six.

It helped, of course, to have the ammunition to fire and Geraghty (right) had plenty of that, from Moscow Flyer and Sprinter Sacre, to Kicking King and Bobsworth.

Over hurdles, he took flight, especially on the young guns, winning a record five Triumph Hurdles.

The Meath native totted up 43 Festival wins, second only to Walsh (59), which was all the more remarkable as he didn’t have ready access to battalions aimed at Cheltenham by Paul Nicholls and Willie Mullins.

For the past five years, Geraghty was retained by JP McManus as the successor to McCoy. And he delivered an astonishing finale in March, chalking up five winners from just 11 rides, all for McManus, including Epatante in the Champion Hurdle and Champ from an impossible position in the RSA Chase. He had intended to complete the season at Fairyhouse, Aintree and Punchestown but the Covid-19 shutdown prevented that. After taking time to weigh up things, he called it quits on Saturday night via social media, a month after turning 41. Like Walsh before him, Geraghty was struck by injuries which contributed to his decision to walk out, on his own steam, and spend more time with wife Paula and three chilat dren. ‘I’ve missed 18 months of the last five years through injury, having broken both legs, both arms, my ribs, shoulder blade and a few other small fractures in between.

‘The eight broken ribs and punctured lung in 2017 ruled me out of Cheltenham, and then the broken arm at Fairyhouse in April only 11 days after returning from the broken ribs were both tough injuries with bad timing.

‘My last injury, the leg break on the eve of the 2019 Grand National Aintree, was a real test and hard to take.

‘It made me appreciate the importance of getting back into a scenario where I could go out on my own terms rather than being stretchered off.’

A popular figure, Geraghty was highly regarded by his peers and popular with the press, whom he always had time for.

Just as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player were the big three of golf in the 60s, so Geraghty was spoken of in the same breath as Walsh and McCoy.

And his big-race record was exceptional, including 121 grade ones and such major handicaps as the Grand National on Monty’s Pass (2003) and the Irish National on Shutthefrontdoor (2014).

Geraghty was also twice Irish champion jockey, in 2000 and 2004, and twice leading rider at the Cheltenham Festival in 2003, when it was just three days, and again in 2012.

‘I’d be lying if I said I haven’t had some second thoughts, though, particularly after such a great Cheltenham but I’m settled on it now and pleased with what I’m doing,’ he added.

As for the best horse he rode, he admitted: ‘I’m still stuck in a

Heroic feat: Geraghty on Punjabi (centre) and (below) his retirement statement dead-heat between Moscow and Sprinter – they’re two of the best two-mile chasers of all time.

‘Sprinter oozed class and could destroy a field, while Moscow would beat a top horse by two lengths and an average horse by two lengths.

‘Calling time on my career wouldn’t have been easy if I didn’t have that win aboard Monty’s Pass on my CV.

‘Wherever you go in the world, if somebody asks you what you do for a living, the next question they often ask is: “Have you ridden in the Grand National?”

‘It’s an amazing race, and to win it was a feeling like nothing else.’

‘Winning the Grand National was feeling like nothing else’