How did you get started in racing?
I left school after the Leaving Cert and a friend of mine, Jeff Murphy, was working in Willie Mullins’ at the time and he called me. I went up to Willie’s and I kind of went from there, that was my first proper job.
Before that, my Dad (Billy) would have had point-to-pointers. My late brother William would have had point-to-pointers as well so I would have always been brought up since I was 13 or 14 with horses.
What is your favourite track and why?
Cheltenham obviously in England but closer to home, I’m a massive fan of Punchestown. It’s the amateur’s Gold Cup at the end of the season and Punchestown give us some great chances to get winners.
Who is your favourite horse and why?
Cause Of Causes, he has to be my best one. He gave me three Festival winners and a second in an English National. He was a horse of a lifetime and he brought my profile a long way.
What is your favourite Cheltenham Festival memory?
The Wednesday in 2017 when Cause Of Causes won the Cross Country and Fayonagh won the Champion Bumper. To have two winners on the same day of the Cheltenham Festival is the stuff of absolute dreams.
Outside of that, a race that sticks massively in my memory is the 2000 Champion Chase between Direct Route and Edredon Blue. It was Tony McCoy and Norman Williamson duking it out and it’s still the race that grabs me every time.
What’s your favourite Festival race?
The Gold Cup. It’s the pinnacle of the week and it’s the one that you want to have a horse in. It’s a fantastic race.
Who’s your sporting hero?
I really admire Ronan O’Gara. The way he thinks about sport and life in general, I like his thought process. Whenever he opens his mouth, my ears would always be open.
Name an opponent or rival you especially admire and why?
Derek O’Connor is the greatest amateur that we’ll ever see and I’ve been lucky enough to compete with him for the last 20 years. And Patrick Mullins, more so in the last few years, I would say those two riders have been the biggest rivals I’ve ever had.
What’s your racing ambition?
Until the day that you stop and retire, you want to try and get as many big winners as you can. There’s no single race that I’d say I’d like to win; I just want to win as many of the better races. That’s ultimately your goal in any sport, to win the bigger ones.
For us, it’s the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham or Punchestown or the Hunters’ Chase at Cheltenham.
Name your dream racing trio (jockey/trainer/owner)?
Ah sure I’ll throw in myself as jockey, Denis Murphy as trainer and Pat Coffey as owner.
If you could change something about racing, what would it be?
We’re trying to change the perception of racing the whole time to suit the people that don’t really care about racing, that’s what I’d like to change. We should be concentrating more on the people that want to go into racing and educating the kids in schools, not bowing down to people that will never accept racing.
The new whip rules are another exercise to bow down to the public that don’t like racing and they’ll never be happy anyway. There are so many things that we could be doing to promote racing at grassroots level and we’re not doing enough of it.
If you could be associated with one horse in training, which one and why?
Back in the day, Desert Orchid was just such an iconic horse and I would’ve loved to have been around at his time and associated with him. He did a lot for the sport back then and he was such an iconic horse.
Of those in training now, I’d have to say Mighty Potter. The potential that he has, we’re hoping that he’s going to be a Gold Cup horse next year. It’s nice to be associated with him but I’d love to own him.
If you could relive one racing occasion, what would it be and why?
When I won the point-to-point championship for the first time, I’d love to relive that day in Ballingarry (Tipperary). It was a small day but all of my family were there and it was just a massively proud day. I was battling with Derek O’Connor for probably four or five years and just to get that one over the line with my family and friends there – some day.
One horse that you think could be a future superstar?
There’s a horse called Firefox (trained by Gordon Elliott) that could be a really, really good stayer over jumps next year.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? (Doesn’t have to be about racing)
I’d like to be able to play the guitar or some kind of musical instrument.
What’s your most treasured possession (racing or otherwise)?
I won the champion amateur title in 2017 on the race track when I beat Patrick Mullins. He hadn’t been beaten in something like 10 years before that and he hasn’t been beaten since.
I got a whip with ‘Champion Amateur 2017’ embroidered on it and I haven’t used that and I never will. I have it mounted at home on a wall beside other trophies and that’s one of the nicest things I have.
Who’s your favourite jockey of all time? Why?
I’m going to say Ruby Walsh. There are four or five jockeys that I really like and they all have different elements that I like but Ruby’s arrogance (in a good way), his will to win and his thought process with race riding was something else. I don’t think he was the most natural horseman but he was the ultimate professional.
Who would your three dream dinner guests be? (Doesn’t have to be racing) What venue would you choose?
Ronan O’Gara, Tommy Tiernan and my brother-in-law Redmond Barry (former Wexford footballer). It’d be in Mary Barry’s Seafood Bar & Restaurant in Kilmore, Wexford. There’s savage grub there.
What’s your idea of perfect happiness?
Being in Rosslare Strand in the middle of July with my wife (Robyn) and my kids (Lottie and Penny) and having a couple of bottles of cider with the sun shining.